Not seeing your favorite Chinese teams at The Stockholm Major? There’s a very important reason for that.
Perfect World has announced that Chinese teams will not attend the Stockholm Major. The competitive region will instead have its own regional final starting on May 6. The choice is most likely related to ongoing health concerns in China. With one of the strongest regions absent from the event, The Stockholm Major has become even more unpredictable.
The following is a list of qualified Chinese teams unable to attend The Stockholm Major.
The official announcement came from Perfect World, which manages Dota 2 in China. Its official Twitter account posted the information early on April 29. The reason for the decision was not officially disclosed, but it is most likely related to ongoing health issues in some major Chinese cities. Travel is restricted for many citizens, which makes international trips either impractical or outright impossible. The results of these events have affected competitive games beyond just Dota 2.
In lieu of competing at The Stockholm Major, Chinese teams will fight for Dota Pro Circuit points at a special regional final. The tournament will presumably use the same system as last season’s regional events. China’s regional finals will begin on May 6, 2022 and will crown a champion on May 8. Those dates could conflict with a potential last-minute Stockholm Major patch.
The following teams will still be in attendance at the $500,000 Stockholm Major.
Three more teams will join after the Eastern Europe playoffs ending March 20. All teams except for the Eastern European sides earned their slot with high placings in the most recent tour. China originally had four slots to fill, tied with Western Europe as the best-represented regions.
The Stockholm Major marks the first Dota 2 major of 2022 after the Spring major was replaced with regional finals. It will mark the first Dota 2 tournament with a live audience since early 2020.
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