Photo courtesy of Perfect World
China Super Major has announced the ten direct invites to the biggest and last Dota Pro Circuit event of the season. Among the expected names such as Virtus.pro and Team Liquid, EG, Na'Vi and OG have been named — causing controversy and outrage.
PGL and Perfect World have released the ten direct invites for the China Super Major all at once. On the top of the list are the usual suspects that top the DPC rankings. Also included were Na'Vi, Evil Geniuses and OG while LGD Gaming, who sits at rank 8, was omitted.
Community members, personalities and players themselves have been up in arms about the invites. Many of the complaints revolve around the teams that aren't in the Top 8 getting invites, but mostly teams such as OG who are not even eligible to claim a direct or regional invite are receiving a chance to score points over teams that the event will represent their last opportunity to move into the top 8 range. To add salt to the wound, OG doesn't even have a fully official roster, continuing to play with the coach, Sébastien "7ckngMad" Debs since kicking Roman "Resolut1on" Fominok one month ago.
The invites have been 'justified' as being completed or determined just before DAC 2018 and that organizers had already issued the offer to the teams.
It is difficult to maintain total integrity in the process with a fluid point system and teams changing rankings from event to event. Invites have to be issued in enough time for visa and travel preparations and for organizers to make other decisions or offer based on which teams accept or decline. However, it does beg the question if there is something else that can be done to protect teams and preserve credibility.
The last stop before TI8 on the 2017-2018 Pro Circuit season will be held in Shanghai, China in early June worth $1,500,000 and 2,250 DPC points. A total of 16 teams will compete at the event, ten invited directly and six qualified teams —one from each of the designated regions. A win for a team here can make their TI8 dreams come true.
