The recent surge of COVID-19 cases due to the new Omicron variant has forced Valve to shelve the Winter Major initially set next month.
The spike in cases dimmed the hopes for Valve to stage the first of the three Major events in the 2022 DPC season and the supposed DPC points will be redistributed in the next two DPC Majors.
Valve deemed it would be impossible to push through with the LAN event given the travel restrictions and the health and safety protocols that a team has to go through.
“As the Winter Tour of the Dota Pro Circuit 2021-2022 season draws to a close, we've made the difficult decision to cancel the first Major,” Valve said in a blog post in Dota 2 website.
“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,” it added.
With the decision to scrap the first Major, DPC’s first tour concludes when the regional tournaments end, although the top teams will still get credited for their DPC points depending on their place in the tournament.
Currently, Boom Esports, spearheaded by its Filipino players Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer and Timothy “Tims” Randrup, lead the pack in the SEA DPC Winter Tour with a perfect 5-0 record followed by The International 10 representatives and Carlo “Kuku” Palad-led T1 with a 4-1 slate. Fnatic and Team SMG are tied for third with an identical 3-2 win-loss standing.
Valve also added that it will continue to evaluate the COVID-19 situation for the next two Majors. Meanwhile, the distribution of points from the first Major will be as followed:
Major 2: 1st Place - 680 Points; 2nd Place - 610 Points; 3rd Place - 530 Points; 4th Place - 460 Points; 5th/6th Place - 385 Points; 7th/8th Place - 240 Points
Major 3: 1st Place - 820 Points; 2nd Place - 740 Points; 3rd Place - 670 Points; 4th Place - 590 Points; 5th/6th Place - 515 Points; 7th/8th Place - 360 Points