PH Drug war affects Major Dota tournament

Galaxy Battles Major

Valve stripped Galaxy Battles Major's "Major" status.

"This is based on what we feel are unreasonable infringements on the privacy of the players, as a condition to enter the country," said Valve. "The tournament itself may still proceed, but without any involvement of Valve or the Dota Pro Circuit. This isn’t a reflection on how we feel about fans in the Philippines, and we are sorry for those that were planning on attending the event."

"PH govt in “drug war” & also busy granting esports athlete status. Result is those attending $1 mil event have to be tested. Currently people get shot in PH for just being suspected of drug involvement. Many attending would fail tests. (All of this had been known for months)" , said Anthony Hodgson.

Without Major status it means that Galaxy Battles II should lose half of its prizepool but would still be a $500,000 event. Although, knowing the risk whether teams will still make the trip or not is currently unknown.

"It is indeed disappointing for something like this to happen but the privacy and safety of players attending events should always be a primary concern.

Filipino Dota fans are greatly passionate and deserve Majors / Minors. Hopefully things can be worked out in the future." , said Wykrhm Reddy.

"Favorite place to go for tournaments and best fans in the world, hope we get to go to the Philippines regardless of the circuit points and valve support." , said Cr1t- ( a Dota player )

I have heard this news from JoinDota. It is sad that Valve decided to strip the "Major" status of the said tournament, because of some silly drug test. They should do these tests if they want to be respected and considered as a real sport in the future. Furthermore, Valve should do more research regarding the matter - the war on drugs in Ph. I believe Valve personnel are not that well-informed on what is happening in the country. They should do solid research themselves instead of just referring to the mainstream media outlets.

P.S. I honestly believe that most of the players and Valve's employees are using drugs, that is why they are declining the said drug test.