TI10 to be delayed, possibly moved to 2021
Valve finally released their statement on how to deal with the tenth iteration of The International.
In a melancholic but inevitable decision, The International will be delayed, possibly until 2021. The game developer also said that the whole Dota Pro Circuit season will be restructured to fall, or around the last quarter of the year.
“Given the highly volatile landscape for local gathering restrictions, virus trajectory, and global travel policies, we don’t expect to have enough confidence to communicate firm dates in the near future,” part of the announcement said.
There is a small positive note in the announcement, however, that the Battle Pass will be released just a week later than the usual schedule. This means that we can expect its release in the next few weeks.
Some teams have also expressed their dismay about the move but agreed that this was for the best, considering the current global dynamics and the ongoing impact the coronavirus pandemic has made.
TI postponed. Who’s cutting onions rn? 😢
— Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) April 30, 2020
A heartbreaking decision but the right one for sure.
Be confident that Dota fans and players alike we’ll all be present to make TI10 memorable.#DreamOG https://t.co/6nLRD8ihIA
— OG (@OGesports) May 1, 2020
This is beyond sad 😭😭😭 https://t.co/BhEeMJgoOM
— Gambit Esports (@GambitEsports) May 1, 2020
Recently, the submission of TI10 Collector’s Cache was also extended to May 3, Sunday.
You can read the full statement below.
“After extensive consideration of the global health emergency stemming from COVID-19, we have made the difficult choice to delay The International. We have been exploring various date possibilities, but it is likely that the event will need to happen in 2021. Given the highly volatile landscape for local gathering restrictions, virus trajectory, and global travel policies, we don’t expect to have enough confidence to communicate firm dates in the near future. In the meantime, we are working on restructuring the DPC season for the fall, and will be providing more information as soon as we have it.
The 10th International prize pool will be funded by 25% of sales of the next Battle Pass, which we are planning to release soon instead of closer to the event itself. However, with our team working from home and things taking longer to complete, the release date of the Battle Pass will be at least a couple of weeks later than usual.
We hope everyone in the Dota community is staying as safe as possible, and look forward to a time when we can once again welcome everyone to enjoy the spectacle of The International.”