A storm has been brewing over the upcoming Dota 2 Chongqing Major.
The million dollar tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game is set to be held in the city of Chongqing, China, but talent such as casters and analysts have threatened to boycott the event over the possible ban of a Filipino player.
Carlo “Kuku” Palad, who plays for Filipino team TNC Pro Team, had earlier made a racist comment offensive to Chinese players in a public game, a matter he has since apologized for. Dota 2’s developer Valve had also weighed in on the controversy, stating in a blog post that “Valve would not tolerate racist languages between pro players in any form.”
“We think it is really damaging to the entire Dota community whenever even a single professional player uses discriminatory language,” said Valve in the same post.
With only five Majors for this Dota 2 Pro Circuit season, attendance matters, as teams need to secure enough points for an invite to the International taking place next year, with an estimated prize pool of possibly $25 million up for grabs
Unfortunately, the incident seems to have not been resolved, as Dota 2 casters then broke the news that Palad would allegedly be banned from attending the event by local government officials. This was before TNC had qualified for the Major.
it’s not a rumor, the municipal government met to discuss after outrage and anger grew over what people in China felt was an inadequate or delayed response and reportedly came to the organizer saying: “this event cannot have these two players”
— Jack Chen (@KBBQDotA) November 24, 2018
With TNC winning a qualifier spot and Palad’s attendance yet unknown, Dota 2 personalities threaten a boycott if Palad is banned from attending. Grant Harris, who has been invited to cast at the event, posted on Twitter earlier Sunday that he would skip the event. He was also joined by other personalities.
If kuku isn’t allowed to play at the major I refuse to cast officially for the major , we all make mistakes and 1 mistake should not forbid you from playing at a tournament that potentially decides your whole career
— Grant Harris (@GranDGranT) December 2, 2018
TNC Pro Team also posted a Twitter update, having reached out to the organizers of the Major, and were told that Palad may either be banned from attending the event, or that city officials would cancel the Major should he attend. The organizers also mentioned being unable to guarantee the safety of Palad, but added that Palad wasn’t banned from attending.
In light of this, TNC has yet to decide whether we will continue playing in the event.
For now, we will be exploring all of our options.
We will update the community in the coming days about TNC’s decision. Thank you.
— TNC Predator (@TNCPredator) December 2, 2018
Despite the ongoing controversy, Valve hasn’t made a response. Last week, the company launched a version of its Steam client for China and signed an agreement with the Shanghai government to host The International 2019, the esports tournament with the biggest prize pool in Shanghai.
CNET has reached out to Valve for comment.
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