https://www.cybersport.ru/dota-2/articles/perenos-the-international-mozhet-obernutsya-katastrofoi-smert-tir-2-sceny-i-neveroyatnaya-skuka

Tier-2 / Tier-3 scene starts to die again

The new DPC format was intended to help the tier-2 / tier-3 scene, give it some stability and at least minimal income. The postponement of TI10 to October means there won’t be a new season until at least November, or even longer. That is, now all these rosters and small clubs that signed the rosters will be left with nothing. Many small organizations cannot afford to remain in a discipline that they will have nothing to fight for for the next four months.

We often say that the problem with many teams in the region is constant replacements. DPC tried to remedy this situation. However, now it will be extremely difficult to maintain the roster and a normal microclimate in it, having a minimum wage or even playing without a tag, against the background of a four-month downtime. Teams will have no goal of continuing to improve together. Recently XBOCT stated that TI10 members might just burn out. Yes, this option is possible, but it is much more likely that those who did not get to The International will be the first to burn out and lose morale. After a failure, you always want to return as soon as possible and rehabilitate yourself, and if there is no such opportunity, self-digging and internal squabbles will inevitably begin. Still, no adequate person can work aimlessly with full dedication and motivation.

Lack of a normal reshuffle

The end of The International always marks the beginning of a great reshuffle. Teams that did not qualify for TI take a month and a half off and wait for the end of the tournament to begin recruiting a new roster. Now we will have to wait almost four months. Both the clubs themselves and the e-sportsmen will be in limbo.

Sitting around for so long is weird and ineffective, but on the other hand, making replacements before TI is also illogical. Take, for example, conditional Natus Vincere – the club could wait until mid-August and then collect the composition, because the conditional DM and Fng or Collapse will be able to lure. What to do now? The option to reassemble the temporary lineup, just to be, by mixing the same players is not the best way, but Valve did not leave another one.

The situation is similar for the players. To join the roster of those who did not make it to TI, while not even being sure that the roster will even live up to the announcement of the new season, is an unenviable fate.

Escobar’s theorem, or what to do with the new patch

Valve was going to release a major patch with a new hero after TI10 – in late August or early September. Now the developers will have a difficult choice: to postpone the release of the update after The International or to release it on time, but before the main tournament of the year. And both options are lousy to varying degrees.

In the first case, ordinary users will suffer first of all. Patch 7.29 was released in April, since then the developers have released only balance updates. We haven’t seen major changes to the map and economy for a long time, and it is these innovations that really refresh the gameplay and change the pace of the game. If the patch is transferred, then the current meta in Dota 2 will simply get sick of most users.

In the second case, cybersportsmen will find themselves in an uncomfortable position. Valve has always released patches before TI, but these were purely minor balance updates aimed at minor changes to specific heroes. Although even such patches could noticeably affect some teams, as in the case of VP at TI7. But a large-scale patch with a new hero is a completely different conversation. He can drastically change many aspects of the game, and it is not easy to adapt to such things. As a result, it may turn out that most teams will have to abandon their strategies altogether and completely rebuild drafts and playstyle. The prospect is extremely dubious. In addition, in this case, all the preparation that was carried out before this will be simply meaningless.

Problems with player contracts

Another problem that several representatives of the community drew attention to at once. Most clubs do often sign contracts with players until September, and only then, following The International, they sit down at the negotiating table and discuss the future. Now a strange situation has arisen in which organizations need to urgently re-sign the contract, while the conditions will be dictated by the cybersportsmen.

As the former COO told Evil Geniuses Philip Aram, the slot at TI is assigned to the roster, not the organization. Therefore, formally, players can simply not renew the contract and go to The International without any obligations in the form of interest for the club, or find a more respectable organization that is ready to pay many times more. In fact, clubs that signed contracts before September could be held hostage by their own players. Therefore, who knows what dramas may await us in the coming months.

Bored viewer and discipline stagnant

In 2023, we have already passed the stage of a million online tournaments, which over time began to become boring due to the monotony of the list of participants. At the same time, at the end of the online era, the participants themselves were already tired of such championships, who performed without much enthusiasm and did not give their best. Now, the top teams that have already qualified for TI10 are completely devoid of any motivation to play in online tournaments. Nobody wants to “fire strata” and waste energy on meaningless championships. Therefore, the organizers are unlikely to be able to lure into online leagues Team Secret, Virtus.pro, Alliance and others.

Watching the showdown of tier-2 rosters, many of which, at the end of the qualifiers, only dream of a reshuffle, is unlikely to be particularly interesting to the audience. In addition, all these online tournaments will again be isolated by their own (and neighboring) region, which will further affect their entertainment. It turns out that it is possible to formally plug the hole until October with different leagues, but in reality it will be simply pointless. Are you tempted by another duel ViKin.gg and Team Unique? I am somehow not very much, with all due respect to both teams. And we are waiting for just such matches, which will be battles of bored or falling apart squads. Just like sealing a hole in a cruiser with tape.

I do not want to say that Valve chose the worst possible option, and even more so I do not claim that I know exactly what decisions had to be made in this situation. However, the fact is that the developers themselves have created an ecosystem that rests exclusively on The International. Everything that happens on the professional scene, and in Dota 2 itself, depends on TI. Therefore, we find ourselves in a situation where the transfer of one championship becomes a threat to the entire discipline.