StarsBoba, the premier Vietnamese DotA team, will not be attending the IEM Shangai 2010 tournament.
The champions of the recently concluded WCG-Asia tournament have declined their invitation to the prestigious IEM competition in China due to a lack of sufficient financial support. Travel expenses to Shanghai have skyrocketed because of the ongoing World Fair in the city. VNB Garena, the Vietnamese Gaming Community website, reports that the team has estimated they will need about $5,000 for the event which is more than would be covered by the prize money. This will be the second time they have missed the event.
This is definitely a blow to DotA fans who have been anticipating a clash between the reigning Asian Champions and EHOME, who took first place at ESWC. StarsBoba will also not get a chance to square off against LGD SGTY, the reigning G-League champions, along with Nirvana.CN and other Chinese powerhouses.
Update 27.07:
As the chinese E-Sports Portal "dota.178.com" reports today,
Nirvana.my will be the team to take the open spot.Currently working on getting the visa duties done, the Runner-up of this years World Cyber Games - Asia is prepared to compete with the very best of China!
Update 28.07:
It turns our that malaysian powerhouse
Ks.Nirvana won´t be able to attend Shanghais IEM 2010 for currently unknown reasons. the Organisation Committee however determined the Squad from 
DK as a likely candidate to fill the open gap, turning the upcoming competition into an all-chinese tournament.Links
VNB Garena - Vietnamese Gaming Community
DotA.178.com - The mising 8th candidate