Valve has confirmed that Chinese teams will not be traveling to compete at the ESL One Stockholm Major. Instead, the 2022 Dota Pro Circuit Spring Tour in China will conclude with another series of isolated Regional Finals from May 6-8.
This news comes from Valve's Chinese partner and tournament organizer Perfect World. He confirmed that Chinese teams will not go to the Major and that the tournament format has been changed for an isolated DPC Round.
No official reason has been given for this decision at this time, but it likely has a lot to do with the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 outbreaks and the government's response to events in China. The region's Spring Round matches have been temporarily postponed due to such pressure in Shanghai at the end of March.
Early yesterday morning, PSG.LGD, China's top Dota team, confirmed via Weibo that all of its players are currently quarantined at home as COVID restrictions increase in the country. Also, the government does not allow travel visa applications to be handled while in quarantine. LGD management has confirmed that the situation has been reported to Valve and Perfect World.
Just like the Winter Tour Regional Finals, the top four teams from the China DPC tour, Division I, will compete in a double elimination group from May 6 to 8 to claim prizes and DPC Points for the season.
Unfortunately for fans, this means another DPC Round will pass before all six regions can send their best players to compete in an international LAN tournament.
Additional details on these Regional Finals will be shared in the coming days.
