Shivendra Shukla
Valve has decided to cancel one of the three majors planned in addition to it’s flagship Dota 2 tournament, The International. This leaves us with a 2 majors + TI scenario. So far the majors were held in different cities, bringing in a different audience each time though they all shared the same passion and enthusiasm. Here’s a look at some of the best cities the upcoming major could be held in.
— Matthew Bailey (@Cyborgmatt) August 1, 2016
Cities that could host the next Major:
London
The financial capital of the world. Home to amazing fish and chips, a plethora of places to visit and comparatively nice weather, London’s a great place to host the next major. It’s fashionable and elegant, and hosting a huge event in a huge city like this is sure to bring more eyeballs and hence cash-moneys to the Dota 2 scene. Though UK Dota scene is still developing, the country’s still home to some of the best casting talent we have, like ODPixel, ReDeYe and Yames (BibleThump).
Moscow
This city by the Moskva river held the wildly succesful Epicenter LAN earlier in May this year. If there’s anything it shows, the enthusiasm of the CIS region can culminate in a spectacular celebration of Dota 2. It wouldn’t be all that strange if Valve held a major here.
Cape Town
Cape Town will be interesting despite the almost non-existent South African pro dota scene. If the point of the major is to draw in huge audiences, any of these cities will be able to do it due to their accesibility worldwide. But if Valve decides to try new places and “move around the world”, we’d love to see a few pro player vlogs on the outlook of Table Mountain.
Singapore
Singapore’s held multiple esports tournaments throughout the year, and the fact that it’s one of the best equipped cities in Asia to handle a Major eludes no one. With two Nanyang Championships, a lot of top tier teams have already had a few visits to the Lion City. Great food, great ambiance and a great travel destination.
Katowice
With ESL hosted majors for CS:GO and Hearthstone held at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, this small Polish city has made a name for itself by being one of the more popular esports hubs. Add in the prize pool from a Dota 2 Major, and you have an occasion where your prize pool is larger than the city’s population.
Kuala Lumpur
The Malaysian Dota scene has been largely neglected by the international community, despite prominent showings in the International since the TI2 days. With regional barriers slowly breaking down and the SEA scene pulling its socks up, a Kuala Lumpur Major would be a sign of solidarity.
Sydney
When not avoiding drop bears and shitposting on 4chan, Australian Dota players find themselves overpaying for games while trapped in their own servers quite far from the others. Despite that, a semblance of Oceania’s Dota scene lives on and flourishes in tournaments in Asia-Pacific. Sydney would be a wonderful place to host the first Southern Hemispheric Major.
Mumbai
We had Manila. We’ll probably have Singapore. But a Mumbai Major remains a pipe dream for the many Indian Dota players who spend their time picking Pudge in SEA Servers. With ESL foraying into Indian esports it’s not too far fetched to expect a Major in the financial capital of South Asia.
New York City
The Big Apple. With many ESL tournaments here, it’s one of the more premier destinations for esports fans to attend and share a few Dota-related memories. If Valve decides to hold a Major in America it’s pretty likely they’ll choose New York to host a quality tournament.
If you’re just here to check out some cool cities and buildings, take a look at 6 Structures Where Builders Should Have Consulted Architects First.
