Even though the Lima Major is shaping up to be a spectacle, with the best teams in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023 Winter Tour filling most of the qualification spots already, there are still concerns the event is on the verge of cancellation due to the ongoing social unrest in Peru.
Protesters took to the streets after President Pedro Castillo was impeached and placed in detention on Wednesday, Dec. 7 for allegedly attempting to dissolve Congress. A state of emergency was declared a week after.
There have been more than 50 casualties since the situation began.
On Jan. 16, tournament organizers 4D Esports told esports.gg they “don’t have any reason to believe the state of emergency is going to affect the Major.” Not everyone is convinced, though—especially since tensions in the capital have escalated since then.
In a bid to quash concerns, they followed it up with another statement on Jan. 27, telling escorenews they have “alternatives” in place “should the situation deteriorate quickly,” but still believe it’s a “worst-case scenario” and is “extremely unlikely” at this point in time.
It’s unclear what those alternatives are, or whether they’ll be needed at all, but the community can let out a sigh of relief knowing the organizers have some kind of backup plan.
One option that isn’t particularly desirable for teams, players, and fans alike is hosting the Lima Major online, with teams separated into regions to ensure latency isn’t an issue. It’s similar to what happened with previous events when COVID-19 hit its peak. While it helped keep the ball rolling, it paled compared to the excitement of a proper event.
At this stage, however, the Lima Major is still set to kick off on Feb. 22.
Published: Jan 29, 2023 07:08 pm