The third major of the Dota 2019/2020 DPC season, scheduled to start on March 15, is officially canceled. About this organizers ESL One Los Angeles 2023 announced on the morning of March 12th. Cybersport.ru tells the full chronology of events.
Trump Decree – Five Hours Before Major Cancellation
On March 12, at 3:30 Moscow time, the first rumors of problems with the major appeared. ESports insider Genus Slasher Breslau wrote on Twitter that due to the coronavirus epidemic, ESL is considering an option to host a tournament without spectators.
At 4 a.m., the media published a message from Donald Trump, in which he announced a decision to ban tourists from Europe except the UK from entering the United States. This restriction also applied to those who visited European countries in the last two weeks. The ban will be valid for 30 days. According to these rules, some teams have already lost the opportunity to get to the major.
At 6:56 Moscow time, Rod Breslau wrote that Valve and ESL informed the teams and casters that the major would be completely canceled. At 7:02 Moscow time about this as well wrote Vitaly v1lat Volochay.
At 7:15 Moscow time Slasher specifiedthat the decision of ESL and Valve to cancel the major is due to the closure of the entrance to the United States from Europe. According to an insider, players and casters were worried that they would have difficulty returning home.
At 9:00 Moscow time ESL published official announcement of the cancellation of the tournament. The organizers emphasized that such a decision was made because of the coronavirus and possible difficulties with the arrival of players. The statement also said that ESL and Valve are working to resolve the issue and discuss new locations and dates for the major. After that, the organizers promised to return the money for tickets to all fans.
First reaction
With the cancellation of the tournament, everyone was upset – from the organizers to the participants and spectators. However, the need for this decision did not raise any questions.
ESL employee Carolina Aonir Ganish said the situation broke her heart.
“My heart is broken. Of course, this is the right decision, and I am glad that we are working closely with Valve to find solutions. But still, the major in Los Angeles was my child, so much effort was put into him ?. “
Jake SirActionSlacks Kanner also expressed support for the organizer.
“Today, traditional sport will die, today we will rise! Esports is the only sport that does not need an audience. Online only! For the next six months, the future is ours!
Now is the time for a serious tweet. Very sad news for our friends from ESL, for those who worked very hard for the tournament to take place, as well as for participants and talents. It is hard to imagine how much time and money wasted. I hope they find an option on how to repay everything. ”
CEO Virtus.pro Sergey Glamazda suggested that now eSports clubs will have to adapt to new circumstances because of the coronavirus.
The cancellation of ESL One in LA is a turning point for eSports organizations and industry in 2023. We will have to change the media strategy, the choice of new disciplines, in fact everything that has more or less been established over the years. The time has come for new opportunities and challenges!# dota2 #esport #virtuspro
– Sergey Glamazda (@SergeyGlamazda) March 12, 2023
Some users have doubted that coronavirus can indeed be a big problem for all eSports. Glamazda explained that not only Dota 2 suffered – over the past week, due to an epidemic, his club has encountered a number of difficulties in various disciplines.
My week is the transfer of Major Apex Legends, the cancellation of the CS tournament in Malta (online transfer), the transfer of LA Dota 2, the cancellation of BC for Fornight because of the virus, the cancellation of two weekly shootings of the tournament with our team.
– Sergey Glamazda (@SergeyGlamazda) March 12, 2023
A similar opinion was expressed and Alexander ZeroGravity Kokhanovsky:
Published with spelling and punctuation of the source
“What will happen to eSports? Of course, since everything went online, such a steep fall in media rights + sponsorship sales [медиаправам + продажам спонсоров] will not. But if the crisis drags on, it will hit absolutely all teams and tournament operators in the first place. Also sagging merchandise sales [продажи мерча]franchise league fees [выплаты франшизных лиг] and royalties [и роялти]. Will there be a big downfall [упадок]? I don’t know for sure, but I think that financially unstable units may begin to go bankrupt already in Q3 2023. “
Most users reacted to the news with humor. Henrik AdmiralBulldog Anberg lamented that the coronavirus cannot be shot, and Nikita 4ce Kotkov found a connection between the cancellation of the tournament and the fact that the US Embassy did not give a visa Zauru Cooman Shakhmurzaev.
Surov Samurai Document not received Major canceled pic.twitter.com/SHCN7FRhIu
– Nikita Kotkov (@ follow4ce) March 12, 2023
“It’s sad that microscopic parasites can ruin everything like that. If they were bigger, we could shoot them. ”
I woke up like this, and here is the news that there will be no major … I’ll go to sleep again. Suddenly what will change!
– Roman Lepokhin (@Casperenush) March 12, 2023
I already know the word 2023
– BUGY ANALYTICS (@drunkstudanal) March 12, 2023
Is the International 2023 at risk?
On March 12, a Swedish government decree banning public events came into force. According to the new law, events with more than 500 participants cannot be held in the country (not only spectators, but also organizers are taken into account). Events that have received accreditation before the decision will have to re-apply.
Stockholm is due to take place in August The international 2023. The community immediately suggested that if the ban is not lifted, then the tournament is likely to lose accreditation and will be held without spectators or even be canceled. Valve has not yet commented on this situation.
At the time of publication of the material, Sweden was in ninth place in the list of European countries that suffered the most from the coronavirus – it recorded 500 cases of infection and one death.
What will happen next?
The schedule for the 2019/2020 season for Dota 2 will have to be redone soon. On April 23, the start of the next minor is planned, which will be held in Croatia, and in early May will be held EPICENTER Major 2023. Before both tournaments, teams will need to go through the stage of regional qualifications, so Valve and ESL do not have much time to organize a major from scratch.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organizers ESL Pro League Season 11 CS: GO canceled the LAN event and decided to gather participants in Europe so that the teams would play online without ping. Perhaps Valve and ESL will come to a similar scheme with the third major in Dota 2. They may also consider organizing a closed LAN tournament in the studio, as, for example, at BLAST Premier Spring Series 2023. According to the community, e-sports has much more opportunities to continue to function, unlike traditional sports, where a number of major tournaments and championships have already been suspended until the end of the month.
