The eSports scene has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and DOTA 2 is no exception.
One could argue that eSports may not be as affected as other competitive sporting events as eSports allow professional players to compete while observing social distancing as long as the player thanks to the internet.
However, eSports have come a long way from the described scenario. Major eSports tournaments are already being held in large venues with a live audience that matches or exceeds the number of attendees to a traditional sporting event.
Listed below are the DOTA 2 tournaments that have been affected by the pandemic:
ESL One Los Angeles Major
The ESL One Los Angeles Major was supposed to be the first DOTA 2 major to be held in Los Angeles before being postponed due to the worsening situation of the United States at the time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel restriction issued by U.S. President Trump for travelers coming from Europe was also a big issue as 16 teams participating in the Major were based in Europe. With the safety of players, staff, production crew, and fans being Valve’s top priority, the entire Major has been cancelled. Days later, ESL announced to carry on with the tournament in an online format. Virtus Pro emerged as the victors after going toe-to-toe with OG and claimed the title of the major.
ESL One Birmingham 2020
The ESL One Birmingham 2020 which was supposed to take place on May 29, 2020 at Arena Birmingham was also re-scheduled and transformed into an online tournament. The SEA region kicks-off the online tournament today starting with a match-up between Fnatic and Team Androit followed by TNC Predator going up against BOOM ID and Geek Fam vs Reality Rift respectively.
OGA DOTA PIT Minor 2020
The OGA DOTA PIT Minor 2020 which was originally scheduled to be held in Croatia from April 23-26 initially got cancelled. However, similar to other DOTA 2 events it was then moved to an online format. Vici Gaming put on a strong performance across all stages of the tournament and capped it off with a brilliant display of dominance against PSG.LGD to win the title with a score of 3-1.
EPICENTER Major
The event was set to take place in Moscow from May 2-10 2020. However, unlike the events listed above, the EPICENTER Major has been cancelled entirely without a re-scheduled online format.
The International 10 (2020)
The International, which is arguably one of the largest annual events in the eSports scene, has been delayed. Valve has announced that because of the coronavirus pandemic, The International 10 (2020) which was originally scheduled to take place in Stockholm, Sweden from August 18-23, 2020 will be delayed indefinitely.
Valve said in a statement: “After extensive consideration of the global health emergency stemming from COVID-19, we have made the difficult choice to delay The International. We have been exploring various date possibilities, but it is likely that the event will need to happen in 2021.”
With Valve emphasizing that their priority would be the safety of the community from competitors, staff, and fans around the world, it would be safe to say that the Aegis will not be claimed anytime soon.
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