Xtreme forfeits Arlington Major slot, loses chance at TI11
After accepting a controversial forfeit in the Dota Pro Circuit, Xtreme Gaming has forfeited its own slot at the Arlington Major.
The decision to not attend the major Dota 2 tournament comes from Xtreme Gaming management, who cited difficulty with acquiring travel visas. The player most affected appears to be Lou “lou” Zhen, whose visa application was denied three times. The promising squad will lose out on a ton of potential prize money and qualifier points for The International 11. Based on current DPC standings, the TI11 regional qualifier will be the team’s last hope.
Xtreme Gaming revealed the decision on social media. The message confirmed that lou’s visa application was denied three times.
“We are very sorry that we are unable to show up for the major’s global competition, we had been looking forward to our performance. We understand our fans and friends are disappointed. Thank you all for continuing to follow us,” said Xtreme, according to digital translation.
This also comes after Xtreme accepted a
forfeit from PSG.LGD
for its DPC season tiebreaker, ending the final match of the tour before it even began. There is a strange wrinkle to the story in that Xtreme could still attend the event with a stand-in. Losing a star carry is rough, but the Arlington Major has a big prize pool and plenty of prestige.
Xtreme would be far from the only team playing with substitutes in Arlington, Texas. Fnatic will attend with three stand-in players, a first in DPC history. Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko of Entity Gaming will also be replaced by Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek. More teams could announce substitutions before the event starts on August 4, 2022.
The International 11 qualifier is Xtreme’s shot at TI
Now missing the Arlington Major, Xtreme Gaming has had an extremely unfortunate Dota Pro Circuit season. The squad missed out on the first major due to travel restrictions and will be unable to attend the third. However, there is still a chance for Xtreme to attend
The International 11
in Singapore.
Details on the regional qualifiers for The International 11 are still being kept under wraps, with very little information known to the public. The dates for the TI11 qualifiers haven’t even been revealed yet. It is assumed that Valve will use a similar format to last year’s The International regional qualifiers. One team from each region will get a last-minute ticket to TI, though Xtreme will have to take the Chinese qualifier very seriously given the stiff competition on hand.
Based on current DPC standings, it is likely that several Chinese juggernauts including Vici Gaming, Team Aster, Royal Never Give Up, EHOME, and more will fight in the same qualifier. With only one such slot available per region, it will be difficult for any Chinese Dota 2 team to make it in.
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