Mark Averbukh: «The possibility of holding The International online is zero»

I respect Vitaly as an excellent commentator and person, but I am skeptical about such a proposal. As tournament organizers, Epic Esports Events has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its participants. By running the tournament amid ongoing quarantine and recurring outbreaks in a number of countries, I put the players and tournament staff at risk. Epic Esports Events is certainly exploring the possibilities of hosting a LAN tournament, but it will only take place if we are 100% safe. As long as the risk remains, I urge everyone to be grateful that esports has the ability to host online tournaments.

The possibility of holding The International online is zero. The very name of the tournament contains its basic principle, which, alas, is unattainable with the current development of technologies and Internet speed between different regions. But even if the internet allowed it, The International is not a tournament that should be played online.

From my point of view, the format of DPC seasons proposed by the publisher needs some work. In the current system, the regional champion will receive $30,000 for a month and a half of play. At Major tournaments, there will be twice as few draws as before, and there are practically no free dates left for independent competitions. This increases the already huge dependence of teams on The International, and the lack of transparent criteria for selecting tournament operators for the DPC creates an unfair competitive advantage for some and an inability to hold competitions for others. In the spring, I figured that Valve didn't have to wait to launch DPC seasons, without thinking that every such season should have a finishing point - Major. Valve's silence is probably due precisely to the inability to determine where the finish line will be for the upcoming DPC season. As soon as the publisher can figure out where and how the first Major will take place, the DPC will be announced. There is, of course, another option: to hold the DPC without linking to the LAN, but this requires an increase in the prize pool. I believe that the top teams will be unpleasantly surprised by the offer to play only one league for a month and a half, where the first place is given $30,000.