Pain X Disqualified: Thunder Predator to Represent South America in Chongqing Major
The winners of the Chongqing Major South America qualifier, test 123—formerly known as Pain X—will not be participating in the Dota 2 Pro Circuit Chongqing Major as representatives of the region. Test 123 has been disqualified by Valve, and their slot will be taken by the third-place winner, Thunder Predator.
Disqualification Due to Regional Qualifier Violation
Test 123, a roster comprised of North American-based players, traveled to the region to compete in the qualifiers but returned back to North America instead of staying in the region. This action goes against the spirit of a regional qualifier. Valve was contacted by the team three months ago inquiring about the possibility, to which Valve responded that it would be against the rules. Test 123 player Rodrigo Lelis expressed disagreement with the disqualification, stating that the message was “poorly communicated.”
Valve’s Rationale Behind Disqualification
According to Valve, the reasons for guaranteed spots for each region are to foster competitive growth in different regions and to have regional representatives for fans worldwide. Valve believes it is important for fans to witness the growth of their regions and see their teams compete in global events. Teams that temporarily travel to and from a region solely to participate in qualifiers do not provide any meaningful benefit to the region and impede overall growth.
Consequences for Rule-Bending
Valve warns that teams attempting to “bend the rules” to gain a competitive advantage over others risk disqualification, as evidenced by test 123.
In addition to the disqualification of test 123, South American team Playmakers Esports encountered problems during the South American qualifiers. Playmakers Esports was disqualified early on for breaking the rules. During a match against Infamous Young, the team fielded a substitute player who was not listed on the official roster, claiming he was Colombian player Jhoam Sebastian “Mogur” Molina Garcia. However, Mogur was simultaneously participating in another tournament, the World Electronic Sports Games 2018 Americas qualifier, with Team Colombia.
Moving forward, paiN Gaming and Thunder Predator will be representing South America in the Chongqing Major.
Chongqing Major, test 123, Thunder Predator, disqualified, Valve, Dota 2, South America, regional qualifier, rule-bending