Teams Withdraw from Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds
Several teams have pulled out of Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds, raising doubts about the status of the event. This comes just three days after Valve, the creator of Dota 2, removed the tournament’s Major status.
Valve made the announcement on Friday, stating that the event would no longer be part of the Dota 2 Pro Circuit due to drug testing requirements imposed by the Philippine government. Valve considers this drug testing as an invasion of players’ privacy.
The first team to announce its withdrawal was Virtus Pro, which opted out of the tournament shortly after Valve’s official statement on January 5. Team Secret and Team Liquid followed suit later that day. On January 6, American team OpTic Gaming also withdrew, along with Chinese team Newbee on January 7, and Southeast Asian squad Mineski today.
Galaxy Battles II Faces Potential Cancellation
With the departure of most of the tournament’s top teams, it seems that the event is at risk of cancellation. However, the organizer Fallout Gaming released a statement on Sunday affirming that the event will proceed as planned.
Downgraded Prize Pool and Qualification Points
As a result of losing its Major status, Galaxy Battles II has had its prize pool reduced from $1 million to $500,000. The tournament will also no longer award qualification points for The International 8, which takes place later this year.
Although the tournament still offers $500,000 in prize money, many teams have chosen to withdraw in order to focus on qualifying for The International 8. These teams view the loss of potential qualification points as a major setback.
Currently, only seven teams remain in the tournament, at least according to official announcements. It remains to be seen how the organizers will handle the nine now-vacant slots in the tournament. As the event is just a week away, we can expect further details or a possible cancellation announcement from Fallout Gaming.
Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds, Dota 2, Valve, tournament, withdrawal, major status, prize pool, qualification points