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The Singapore Major Is a Disaster

Ideally, I would have loved to tell you that it was worth the wait. One year without Majors and... Radu M. | 28. March 2021

Ideally, I would have loved to tell you that it was worth the wait. One year without Majors and significant LAN events has made everyone ask the question: where has Dota 2 gone? And when is it coming back? It’s like one of those tragic films in which a parent dies and the child asks: where’s mommy? Well, it’s the same with our beloved game and now, after a long wait, we finally have a Major. But so far it’s been a complete disaster.

Many Players Are Missing

Many of the participating teams are playing with stand-ins. The reason is simple: one or more players either suffered from Covid, was suspected to suffer from Covid, or could not find a way to travel abroad during these difficult times. The list is quite long. These are just some of the names:

  • MinD_ContRoL (Team Nigma)
  • Natus Vincere (whole team)
  • beastcoast (whole team)
  • Natsumi- (Neon Esports)
  • MSS (Quincy Crew)
  • Kuku (T1)

With all of these last-minute changes, you shouldn’t be surprised if a team plays much worse than normal. Because it’s all a huge improvisation. Dota 2 is not supposed to be played like this. It takes months for a lineup to learn how to play together fluently and figure out a way to win. At the highest level, having a foreign player on your roster is guaranteed to mess up all of your plans. From the laning stage to your drafts, your entire preparation has been rendered null in most cases.

Poor Performance

Team Nigma and T1 are already eliminated, after just 4 matches. Both teams failed miserably due to understandable reasons: last-minute stand-ins. As a result, we are likely to see Team Liquid, Vici Gaming, and PSG.LGD advance to the Group Stage. Normally, only two of them should move on. But since some of the teams announced that they will not attend the tournament at all, the rules had to change. And not just for the Wild Card. The Group Stage is also more generous. Because a Playoffs team is no longer on the list.

Some people will criticize 23savage for failing with T1. But it’s really not his fault. The team lost a very important player, Kuku, and Forev can’t fill that void. Not in his current form anyway.

Reported Corona Case

We don’t know who it is, but a player was found positive and everyone is playing scared. The excitement has been replaced with the unpleasant sensation that nobody wants to be there but they have to if they want to secure a ticket for the upcoming International, whose prize pool will be $40 million.

Normally, the thing that makes LANs so great is the atmosphere. The public is cheering, the teams are all excited to play, the spectacle reaches amazing heights. Not in this case. Everything’s quarantined. If you’re used to the hype of big events, you’ll be disappointed watching this tournament. ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 will be remembered as one of the most boring and weird Majors in the history of the game.

 

Photo credit: Valve