One month ago, Beyond the Summit announced that it would no longer host a Major event in the Pro Circuit. Now, three Pro Circuit tournaments, including a Major, have been canceled.
Beyond the Summit’s decision was due to circumstances beyond its control, primarily the collapse of its deal with Next Generation Esports. The two Minors scheduled for Jan. 12 in Singapore and Mar. 2 in Malaysia were also cut from the Pro Circuit by organizers Global Esports Championships (GESC) due to external factors.
GESC announced the cancellation of the tournaments in a statement on its official website. However, no details regarding the reasons for the cancellation were provided.
The canceled Major was supposed to take place on Mar. 8, but there were no details about its location, prize payout, or format. Another Major, originally scheduled for Feb. 5, will now take its place instead.
According to Valve’s rules, each Minor must have a prize pool of at least $150,000 in order to qualify for inclusion in the Pro Circuit. Valve then adds an additional $150,000 to the payout. The qualification point pool for a Minor is directly proportional to its payout, ensuring that each participating team receives at least 300 points.
With the cancellation of the two GESC events, there will be at least 600 fewer qualification points and $600,000 less prize money in the Pro Circuit. Unless other organizers step in with their own events, this will remain the case for now. While the canceled Major is still on the schedule with a new date, the GESC Minors have yet to be replaced.
Top teams in the Pro Circuit leaderboard will likely not be affected by the loss of the GESC Minors. However, Tier 2 and 3 teams, especially those in the Southeast Dota 2 scene, may be disappointed as they will have fewer opportunities to earn points and prize money.
dota 2, esports, Pro Circuit, Beyond the Summit, GESC, Major, Minor