No open qualifiers at The International marks end of an era at eSports' premier event

The largest eSports event, The International, returns this year with a jaw-dropping prize pool of $40 million. It was supposed to held last year but was postponed due to the pandemic . While the event does return this year, it will not be quite the same as the tournament will no longer have an open qualifier. To understand the implication of this change, it is best to first look at The International and its history. The event was started in 2011 by Valve Corporation to serve as the flagship tournament for their game Dota 2. At the time the event had a prize pool of $1.6 million, which was then an unbelievable figure as far as eSports events were concerned. The event has since been held every year with the exception of 2020. Starting 2013, Valve introduced an in-game item known as the compendium that could be purchased by players for $10 and 25 percent of the money generated through the sale of this compendium was added to the prize pool of the tournament. This made TI partially crowd-funded and added over $1.2 million to the prize money, raising the total to $2.87 mllion. By 2014, it reached the $10 million mark using the same formula of having a $1.6 million base prize pool and the remainder being added through the sales of the compendium.

Miss the premiere of #TrueSight #TI9 ?
📺Watch the full episode on YouTube here: https://t.co/17U1wAC3CD#dota2 pic.twitter.com/JmtPMyCTQm

— The International (@dota2ti) January 29, 2020

In 2016, the compendium was phased out in favour of the Battle Pass. This renamed item fits the same role as the compendium as 25 percent of the proceeds from its sales go to the prize pool for TI. The main difference between the two is that unlike the compendium that was a one-time purchase, the Battle Pass features a level system and the higher the level the greater the in-game rewards a player earns, these levels can also be bought and 25 percent of the sales is added to the prize pool. As of 2019, the prize pool had risen to $34.33 million, which is to date the highest prize pool that has been given out at any eSports event that has already been held. TI10 (10th edition of TI) is set to break this record. Open qualifiers were introduced in 2015 and had become a bit of a trademark (as far as fans are concerned) for the event. The event is meant to have the best teams, and as such, it requires an invite to participate. The open qualifier was set up as a gruelling challenge that offered the opportunity for one team to fight their way into the tournament against all odds even if they did not have an invite. Featuring thousands of teams and back-to-back elimination matches, it allows for zero mistakes. Despite the difficulty level, it represents a dream. Any group of five players who believe they have the skill can try their hand and maybe, just maybe, end up at TI. It is also a fact that the most successful Dota 2 team to date, OG, fought their way into the event in 2018 through the open qualifiers before they became champions that year. This is also the only team that was able to defend its status of TI champion when they repeated the feat in 2019. Valve making the decision to remove the open qualifier and only host a closed qualifier for the teams that are part of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) is a big change as it closes the opportunity for other teams to create history like OG. This decision comes in the wake of major changes to the competitive format of Dota 2. Since the beginning of the year, Valve Corporation has formalised the DPC in a way that has never been seen before. In its current iteration, the DPC features six regional leagues, North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, South East Asia, and China. The move was announced early last year and originally TI10 was supposed to be the last iteration that would feature an open qualifier. With the delays due to pandemic and all the shuffling around, the new DPC system was implemented, and as such only the teams that took part in the DPC will be given the shot at redemption through a closed qualifier. Given the fact that TI10 is all set to take place in August this year and there is only one event left before it, the outcry against a lack of open qualifiers has started once more.

Introducing DPC Team Profiles - The next piece in an evolving platform of features designed to help you track all the action in Dota competitive play.https://t.co/dKquJjQuWf pic.twitter.com/bftTNZS904

— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) April 27, 2021

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Given the fact that Dota 2 is following the example of traditional sports to set up a professional circuit and that the invites for TI10 are based on points earned in the professional circuit, it is best to look at other sports for open qualifiers. The US Open Golf Tournament is closest to the TI in this regard. At the US Open, a player is able to play his way through a set of local qualifiers or through various other means if they do not gain entry directly. As a matter of fact, much like OG in Dota 2, there is a US Open Champion who has emerged through the local qualifiers. Michael Campbell in 2005 won the US Open after fighting his way into the tournament through the local qualifiers. However, this where the similarities end. Unlike the open qualifiers with zero restrictions to participation that had turned TI into an attainable dream for many a player over the years, the local qualifiers of the US Open Golf Tournament do have restrictions that require a player to furnish evidence of a certain standard of play before they can take part. This brings up a discussion on why change something that made Dota 2 unique, and if it is being changed now why was it even created in the first place. The answer to this is actually far simpler than it appears at first glance. The open qualifier was set up at a time when the tournaments being held through the year were not truly systemised into a league, and as such the decision-makers at Valve may have felt that it is possible that there is a truly competent team that slips through the cracks of the system. Other possibilities include the fact that the open qualifier may be set up to encourage the formation of newer teams in order to boost the economy of the game or just to offer players who are left without a team a last chance of sorts to make their way into the event. The change starting this year to remove the event shows a change in the opinion that Valve Corporation has on open qualifiers as well as how they wish to develop Dota 2. They clearly feel it is important to have a system in place that would allow for the development of upcoming talent in eSport and an open qualifier that allows for dream entries into the top event is no longer the answer. When the current DPC system and its format were announced, it was stated that the idea behind the changes was to help foster the talent pool for the eSport in a way that even lesser-known teams and players would be able to pursue Dota 2 as a career. Given this, it is likely that the change is meant to promote the value of the DPC for aspiring as well as current Dota 2 players. In my opinion, moving forward, we should expect that even other eSports will slowly raise the bar for entry to their premier tournaments as doing so encourages players to become a part of the eSport’s professional circuit. As for the merit of having an open qualifier, I am of the opinion that the open qualifier is not just a last chance for players who believe they have the potential to reign supreme but also a symbol of hope for many who believe that they have not received equal opportunities when it comes to succeeding at eSports. The fact that it acts as such a powerful symbol does give it a certain degree of merit.