To say that the Dota 2 community is excited about the Singapore Major is an understatement. After all, this is the first LAN event since the world came to a halt last year. The tournament starts March 27 with the Grand Finals set on April 4. A total of 16 teams will compete to get a large share of the $500,000 prize pool and 2,700 DPC Points.
However, days before the official start the tourney faced a big problem. It seems that some of the team members tested positive for COVID-19. Even a caster had to decline from attending the event. Today, we take a look into these issues.
Let’s start with Ioannis "Fogged" Loucas. He was initially invited to be part of the SG Major as a caster. He announced early this week that he had been feeling ill since last week. Considering that his girlfriend had tested positive, there was a big change he would be too. As such, he said that he would no longer be attending the event.
Out for the Count
The first sign of problems began last week. Natus Vincere announced that two of its members had caught the coronavirus. That meant Andrii "ALWAYSWANNAFLY" Bondarenko and Bogdan "Iceberg" Vasilenko would no longer be able to join the tournament.
On March 20, Na’Vi said they had no choice but to make changes to the roster. Two of those set to serve as stand-ins are Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev and team coach Andrey "Mag" Chipenko.
Yesterday, Na’Vi announced they were no longer participating in the SG Major. Before the flight to Singapore, Mag also tested positive for COVID-19. Based on protocols in Singapore, if at least one team member tested positive for the coronavirus, the entire team must self-quarantine, which effectively canceled their participation in the Major.
There was also the issue with stand-in Nikola "LeBronDota" Popović. The flight he was on suffered from some technical issues and there was the risk that by the time a new flight was available, the player’s PCR test result would expire. It’s because of these two reasons that his team decided to withdraw.
Backing Out
On the same day Na’Vi confirmed its nonparticipation, South American team beastcoast said they were also withdrawing from the tournament. Team Captain Steven “StingeR” Vargas tested positive for COVID-19 while others tested negative. beastcoast explained that given the incubation period of the virus, there was no assurance that members would be negative once they fly to Singapore.
SEA Issues
The Southeast Asia region is also having problems of its own. T1 revealed that Carlo “Kuku” Palad won’t be joining due to health problems. Serving as his replacement is Lee “Forev” Sang-don.
Neon Esports told of the same issue. The team said John Anthony “Natsumi” Vargas has been deemed unfit to travel and could no longer join. Serving as his stand-in is former member Rafael Sicat “Rappy” Palo.
A Sad Development
Dota 2 fans are sure sad to know that Quincy Crew won’t be performing at 100%. This would have been the perfect time for the team to show just how good they are.
The team reported early this week that Arif “MSS” Anwar had tested positive for the virus. Because of this, Milan "MiLAN" Kozomara would replace MSS for the Major.
Later, the team management confirmed that the stand-in won’t be happening as well since MiLAN shared was on the same flight as LeBronDota. As such, the team is now looking for a new replacement.
Bad Luck
As if all those news weren’t bad enough, Team Nigma is experiencing comparable issues. Many fans have been excited to see the team play in a LAN event.
Nigma told that Ivan Borislavov "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov is no longer joining the team in the tournament. He was already feeling unwell and was tested for COVID-19. Unfortunately, his test result was positive, so serving as his replacement is Roman "rmN-" Paley.
A Different Reason
Although everyone is concerned about the health of the players and everyone involved in the tournament, Team Aster of China had something different. The team had announced that Ye "Borax" Zhibiao won’t be joining the SG Major. His spot would be occupied by assistant coach Cheng "Mad" Han in the tourney.
Care to guess why? According to a report, citing the Chinese forums, Borax has been arrested for what is being called “incomplete prostitution.” Apparently what happened was the police were doing an operation in a particular area and Borax was one of those caught. Under the law, he could be detained for a maximum of 5 days under incomplete prostitution. Though if prostitution did happen, he’s going to serve 10 to 15 days.
Community Comments
With all of these issues, many in the Dota 2 community are already disappointed this early. Many are pointing to the fact that Valve could have done something more to make sure that everything went smoothly for this tournament. After all, other organizations managed to have LAN events like Riot Games for its 2020 World Championship for League of Legends .
What do you think? Are you still as excited to watch the Singapore Major?
