It’s an end of an era, as most old school Dota 2 fans would reminiscence of the time when Beyond the Summit hosted homely yet well-produced tournaments.
In a saddening tweet by David “LD” Gorman, he shares that BTS won’t be hosting next season’s DPC. Yet, that was just the tip of the bad news as LD followed up by stating that BTS will likely stop all Dota 2 productions too. We warned of potential pains in the competitive ecosystem all the way back before BTS Summit X.
Three years onward, we are here.
Beyond the Summit won’t host the next DPC
Founded in 2012, a decade ago, David “LD” Gorman and David “GoDz” Parker gathered talents across the Dota 2 scene for their in-house tournaments. They were not only a pillar in nurturing new teams, but provided a platform for eager talents, hoping to kickstart their professional casting and commentating career.
out not with a bang but a whimper
no idea what the future holds but thanks for everything all these years, love you all always pic.twitter.com/gpnKxnKjxU
— LD (@LDeeep) October 13, 2022
Perhaps the most iconic trait that makes BTS tournaments stand out is the casual environment. Dubbed the BTS House, it is their flagship location for Esports broadcast and also team rooms. Players and talent team can enjoy the typical home facilities, such as the dining room, kitchen, swimming pool, and of course, the casting couch.
Decade-long Legacy
Over the years, BTS has hosted their own tournament series, namely the DOTA Summit, which eventually became known as BTS Pro Series. The DOTA Summit typically invites teams across various regions to play at their gaming studio. However, the tournament venue has changed to a LAN setting over the years to accommodate two regions, the Southeast Asia and Americas.
Besides their own tournaments, BTS is no stranger to collaborating with other tournament organizers, such as the BEYOND EPIC tournaments in 2020. It was a massive collaboration with Europe’s biggest TO, Epic Esports Events and RuHub. While most tournaments by BTS are usually successful and well-driven, hosting the DPC 2021 and 2022 were massive feats for the independent tournament organizer. They hosted for SEA and North America, but eventually took up the Eastern European scene too.
Fans share good memories of the BTS tournaments
On LD’s Twitter post, fans took the opportunity to share their memorable moments watching the various BTS tournaments. For instance, when GoDz cosplayed as an Enchantress while casting or the hilarious interviews they held with players.
Dota 2 esports may be heading toward a crisis
Although not mentioned by LD, fans are beginning to speculate on what’s going on behind-the-scenes. One popular discussion was that there is a change in tournament hosting and broadcasting policies, which negatively affect how TO run their operations. It likely has much to do with exclusive broadcasting rights and advertisements, which is what runs the tournaments financially.
If there’s anything the recent debacle on PGL featuring betting sponsor in their official broadcasts of the International 11, it’s evident that the competitive Dota 2 scene is not attracting the right sponsors. In hindsight, it seems like the funding and finance side of organizing tournaments is the root cause of this fiasco. The easiest resolution would be for Valve to provide more funding from the International Battle Pass profits.
Jonathan “Loda” Berg tweeted that Valve has only given out $200M in prize money for Dota 2 thus far. Meanwhile, Sébastien “Ceb” Debs too has called out on Valve’s take on Dota, which is outrageous and demoralizing. Let’s not forget that BTS wasn’t chosen by Valve to host their DPC, which is fine. However, as LD suggests, the lack of communication and appreciation for their work was the nail on the coffin.
to be clear we aren’t entitled to shit, production gigs are earned not given, and it’s completely fine that we weren’t the choice, there’s plenty of other great options
what hurts is the (lack of) communication & acknowledgement and the way the news was delivered after 10 years
— LD (@LDeeep) October 13, 2022
Well then, the recent chain of negative feedback on Valve will eventually go public when more players voice out their sentiment.
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