The Upcoming Dota Pro Circuit Is Unlikely to Happen

Normally, by the end of September we should be starting the 4^th Dota Pro Circuit season. But with no tournament schedule announced, The International 10 being delayed indefinitely and the global crisis still raging, it’s almost a guarantee at this point that we will have at least one more season of online events before things can go back to normal.

Valve’s Position

Valve is understandably worried about what’s going on and reluctant to do much about it. Safety comes first and right now, live esports events in massive arenas are the exact opposite. So it’s intuitive that we’ll have to wait a lot longer before something happens for real. But meanwhile, it would be nice for Valve and other tournament organizers to not abandon the pro scene entirely.

Keep in mind that the prize pool for The International 10 has surpassed the $36 million mark. Since we won’t have that tournament anytime soon, wouldn’t it be better if Valve used at least 25% of that amount to create an array of online events with decent prize pools? This would allow players to stay interested and it would also guarantee the survival of the game as an esport. Otherwise, with fewer and fewer people tuning in to watch the occasional Dota 2 match that’s far from being highly anticipated, interest in the sport will wane and by the time things get back to normal, a large portion of the audience will be lost forever.

In Valve’s recent announcement, the 4^th Dota Pro Circuit should start around February 2021. But I don’t see how that’s possible. We’re still in the early stages of the ongoing global crisis and things could get a lot worse before they get better. So what I’m hoping to see in the coming weeks and months is a clear announcement from Valve, telling us that they understand where this is going and that there’s a plan B that will keep the show running, even if at a lower intensity than before. It’s better to have a purely online year with clearly planned out events than to wait in vain.

The International 10 should be postponed until next August and simply accept that 2020 was the year of all disasters. In light of that fact, much of the TI 10 prize pool, if not all of it, should be dedicated to the online tournaments that will take place in 2020 – 2021. If Valve does that, I’m sure everyone will be ok with their decision. If they let the months go by without any sign that they’re adapting to the reality of what the world is going through, I think people will be disappointed.

Reactions From The Community

The community has already reacted negatively to Valve’s indecision. Some players have expressed their opinion on Twitter and in some cases, they’ve even announced a temporary break from playing professionally. One such example is Clinton Loomis, also known as Fear.

 

Photo credit: Valve