Valve cancels first Dota 2 Major for 2021-2022 DPC over Omicron and Delta concerns

Dota 2 developer Valve Software announced on Wednesday (12 January) that they have canceled the first Major of the 2021-2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season over growing concerns that new coronavirus strains would make hosting an international LAN tournament unfeasible.

Valve said in a blog post they made "the difficult decision" to cancel the 2021-2022 DPC's first Major due to the spread of the Delta and Omicron coronavirus strains around the world hampering any efforts to host a live tournament.

"While hopes were high that we could host an international LAN event, the discovery and spread of new strains of COVID-19 and the resulting increase of travel restrictions has made it unfeasible for all qualified teams to gather for a LAN tournament," said Valve.

With the season's first Major now canceled, the Winter Tour of the 2021-2022 DPC will end with the conclusion of the regional leagues.

The DPC points which the teams that qualified for the Major would have earned have also been redistributed to the season's second and third Major.

The new DPC point distribution for the Majors are as follows:

Major 2:

• 1st Place - 520 Points

• 2nd Place - 310 Points

• 3rd Place - 210 Points

• 4th Place - 105 Points

• 5th Place - 52 Points

Major 3:

• 1st Place - 680 Points

• 2nd Place - 410 Points

• 3rd Place - 270 Points

• 4th Place - 135 Points

• 5th Place - 68 Points

Valve said that they will "continue to evaluate the situation regarding international travel for future Majors as we progress through the second Tour."

Team Secret operations director Matthew Bailey later revealed a message apparently sent by Valve to teams competing in the DPC wherein the developer apologized for the lack of communication and revealed plans to "get everyone together in one location and play out the tournament in a LAN."

The 2021-2022 DPC season has been split into three Tours for the Fall, Winter, and Spring, with the regional leagues taking place from 29 November 2021 to 17 July 2022. For everything you need to know about the new DPC season, check here.

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