Valve postpones Dota 2’s The International due to COVID-19 pandemic

Photo courtesy of Valve Corporation.

MOALBOAL, CEBU — Valve Corporation announced on Thursday, April 30, 2020, that The International 2020 will be postponed due to the coronavirus threat.

In a press statement, Valve said that the event may be moved to 2021.

“After extensive consideration of the global health emergency stemming from COVID-19, we have made the difficult choice to delay The International….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,” the post reads.

“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,” they added.

Valve also said that the team is closely working on restructuring the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season.

The developer added that the next Battle pass, which contributes 25 percent of The International’s prize pool, will be ‘released soon instead of closer to the event itself.’

Battle pass allows Dota 2 players to receive new items, exclusive features, and legendary rewards from the game.

Last March 12, 2020, Valve also postponed ESL One Los Angeles 2020 Dota 2 Major due to coronavirus disease 2019 situation.

The International 2020, which is the tenth edition of The International hosted by the game’s developer Valve Corporation.

The biggest Dota 2 tournament was supposed to be held at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden with different professional teams from all over the world competiting against each other to claim the TI prize money and the Aegis of Champions. /bmjo