Valve has cancelled Dota 2’s Epicenter Major and Dota Pit Minor

More bad news has come due to the Coronavirus pandemic which has brought the world to its knees. Valve has announced that their 4th Major and Minor events, the Epicenter Major and the Dota Pit Minor have been completely cancelled. 

After careful consideration of the current state and trajectory of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the health risk that this presents to competitors, staff and fans alike, we have made the difficult decision to cancel to the 4th minor and major tournaments of the DPC season.

— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) March 15, 2020

There are no plans to reschedule the tournaments or to relocate them. In an official statement, Evgeny Kalganov, Event Director of Epic Esports Events, which organises the Epicenter Major said: 

"We are very sorry to report this, but the tournament we were all looking forward to has been cancelled. The safety of players, fans and employees is the most important thing for us. Anyone who has already purchased tickets for EPICENTER Major will receive a refund as soon as possible. 

We hope that the threat of a pandemic will soon pass, and EPICENTER will again host the best teams in the world.” 

The procedure for returning tickets will be announced later."

There has been no official statement from One Game Agency, the organisers of the Dota Pit Minor yet, at the time of writing. 

This announcement will seriously impact the Dota 2 pro circuit, as the points scored in these events are what qualify the teams to The International. The third Major, the ESL One Los Angeles Major, has already been postponed but the details have not been announced. Only the Fifth Major, the ONE Esports Singapore Major and an unannounced fifth Minor remain. 

Other than its effect on the pro circuit, this could also seriously harm the casting talent and the smaller teams financially. They depend on the prize money and the earnings from these events to stay afloat and them being cancelled will put a huge dent in their yearly earnings.