Galaxy Battles II Loses Major Status

Earlier today Valve announced it would be rescinding the Major status of Galaxy Battles II. As well as the qualifying points available at the event. You can read the full statement here. Valve cited player privacy issues as their reason behind this change. While also mentioning that they will be working with tournament organizers to put on another Major. Complete with prize pool and qualifying points.

Galaxy goes on

Intially, it’s obvious that this will hurt fans attending the event most. As many paid for tickets to a Major Dota 2 event in hopes of seeing elite teams battle for points on the Pro Circuit Leader-board. Though Valve was not clear on whether the prize pool would be changed. It is unlikely that Valve would contribute to the prize pool after rescinding its Major status. Without any contribution from Valve there is still $500,000 up for grabs at Galaxy Battles II. Which should still entice teams to bring their best strats to the events. As the scene has shown time and time again how much they value their fans attendance.

Valve cited player privacy issues as their main reason for removing the Major status associated with Galaxy Battles II. Looking around the Philippine’s website for their Department of Foreign Affairs did not provide any information that really stood out. One requirement for Visa that did raise questions was a requirement to submit pictures of the traveler’s passport prior to obtaining a Visa. This may be what Valve was concerned about as Passports contain a lot of personal information and having a tangible copy of one could pose a large potential risk.

Last year’s stage at Galaxy Battles (GosuGamers)

Rescheduling a Major could shake the Pro Circuit later on

What is really interesting about this is the timing that will go into scheduling another Major. The Pro Circuit schedule is jam packed this year with a plethora of Dota almost every weekend. Definitley not something to complain about. Though it presents a unique challenge in rescheduling with these specific teams that are going to attend Galaxy Battles II.

Majors carry an insane amount of qualifying points. A team that wins a Minor gains 450 qualifying points toward their total. A team that wins a Major gains 2,250 points toward their total. Finishing first place at a Minor gives players 150 QP each and winning a Major gives 750 QP each. The differences in these is glaring. On the bright side, Valve has stated they fully intend to hold another Major-style tournament to make up these Qualifying points so it is not as if they are completely off the table. Depending on when Valve decides to “redo” this event it could really affect the overall standings for a direct invite to the International. If this tournament was to take place closer to TI it could allow a team who was playing well at the time to grab a huge amount of Qualifying Points in a final push for Dota’s most prestigious event.

While it’s sad that teams will not be jockeying for position in the Dota Pro Circuit in Manila next week. There is plenty of money on the line and matches are sure to be hype. As the fans in the Philippines have gained a reputation as being some of the best in Dota. Surely they will still be in for a great tournament.

Featured image courtesy of TNC Gaming

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