Exactly one month ago, Dota 2 talent agency and tournament organizer Beyond the Summit announced that it would no longer host a Major event in the Pro Circuit. Now, not one, but three Pro Circuit tournaments—one being a Major—have been canceled.
Beyond the Summit’s decision was due to circumstances beyond its control, revolving mostly around the collapse of its deal with Next Generation Esports. Similarly, the two Minors scheduled for Jan. 12 in Singapore and Mar. 2 in Malaysia, were cut from the Pro Circuit by organizers Global Esports Championships (GESC) as a result of outside factors.
This was announced yesterday in a short statement by GESC on its official website. The exact details of the cancellation were not disclosed.
The canceled Major was an unannounced event scheduled for Mar. 8, however, with no details regarding its location, prize payout, or format provided at all. Another Major, which was originally scheduled for Feb. 5, will take its place instead.
Per Valve’s rules on the Pro Circuit, each Minor must have a least $150,000 in its base prize pot, in order for the event to be included in the list and for Valve to add another $150,000 on top of the initial payout. In addition, a Minor’s qualification point pool is directly proportional to its payout, which means each one will have at least 300 points to distribute among the participating teams.
With the two GESC events gone, this means that there will be at least 600 less qualification points and $600,000 less prize money in the Pro Circuit for the foreseeable future—at least until other organizers get in with their own events. While the canceled Major technically remains intact thanks to the date change, the GESC Minors have yet to be replaced as of this time.
For teams already well above the rest of the pack in the Pro Circuit leaderboard, the loss of the GESC Minors are unlikely to affect them much. Tier 2 and 3 teams, particularly those in the cutthroat Southeast Dota 2 scene, will probably lament the cancellation—as this means fewer opportunities for them to score points and cash.
