Dota 2 Major In Shanghai Was A Massive Trainwreck
When Valve fired James ‘2GD’ Harding along with the entire English production crew the next day, most fans and participants of the Dota 2 Major event in Shanghai hoped that conditions would’ve improved.
Turns out, they were wrong. Over the course of the two-day event, both participants, broadcasters and fans had to endure production mishaps, staff inadequacies and overall, a terrible event.
On the first day itself, signs of terrible production began when the event was delayed for two hours and the opening ceremony being cancelled. It’s not uncommon for delays to happen but the lack of transparency caused some confusion among players and casters alike.
Opening ceremony canceled is what I've been told.
— Peter Dager (@Peterpandam) March 2, 2016
If you thought that the production team would have stepped up their game to ensure the event progressed smoothly, you thought wrong. Throughout Day 1, casters and personalities alike started tweeting out the terrible conditions they were given to work with in the Shanghai Major.
The VIP room! pic.twitter.com/4f8wcodpSz
— David Gorman (@LDdota) March 2, 2016
Сказ о том, как игры комментируются) pic.twitter.com/GduvlZezpb
— Rustam Mavliutov (@AdekvatTV) March 2, 2016
It doesn’t help that as the day progresses, more problems seems to pop up for the event, where the English stream was offline throughout the first series of the day. LD took to twitter to point out some of the issues they had to deal with in the venue.
We were told we "couldn't have internet" at the analyst desk. There is an ethernet jack 30 feet away from the desk. We now have internet.
— David Gorman (@LDdota) March 2, 2016
I literally had to beg for the ethernet cables and network switch and run / tape them down myself in between shifts on the desk.
— David Gorman (@LDdota) March 2, 2016
Later on, due to delays, the lower bracket matches was played with no live audiences attending due to the fact that the arena doesn’t allow crowds after 21:30. As three Chinese teams were playing, audiences were asked to leave the venue despite having the match in progress.
Of course, as delays continued, the caster had to work for more than 16 hours in order to finish up the first day matches.
Dear tournament organizers. Next time after 17 hour live show I would like to have a bus to transfer me and colleagues to the hotel
— Vitalii Volochai (@v1lat) March 2, 2016
Virtus.Pro manager Georgy Faleev summed up the first day in this tweet:
It's even worse than Gaming Paradise, which didn't happen at all. #ShanghaiMajor pic.twitter.com/OUSmLoq6vr
— Georgy Faleev (@vp_drAmer) March 2, 2016
Day two wasn’t any better as EternaLEnVy faced serious health issues playing in the booths due to the air being unbreathable.
My eyes sting so much in these booths I feel like there's glue in my eyes
— EternaLEnVy (@EternaLEnVy1991) March 3, 2016
The admin who stayed in the booth all day yesterday got sick. Gg
— EternaLEnVy (@EternaLEnVy1991) March 3, 2016
Certain conditions from the first day were subsequently improved but the Shanghai Major had left a permanent bad taste to players and broadcasters alike. Hopefully, Valve and the production can improve the event going forward.
Source: Gosugamers.net
