Supersonic 49,376 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 The Dota 2 world championships will have to move elsewhere this year, as their long-planned Stockholm venue has vanished amid a classification decision by officials in the Swedish government. Valve had worked with local and national bodies since 2019 to plan for The International's 10th outing. The International is esports' highest-paying event, with this year's prize pool coming in at over $40 million. "Despite previous reassurances, we were informed two weeks ago that the Swedish Sports Federation had just voted not to accept esports into the sports federation," Valve said in an announcement. Subsequently, Valve appealed to the Swedish Minister of the Interior, who declined to recognize The International 10 as an "elite sporting event." Without that classification, contestants aren't guaranteed entry into the country due to Covid-19 restrictions. Valve then appealed directly to the Swedish government, but was denied assistance, and a subsequent appeal failed to provide a solution. "As a result, and in light of the current political situation in Sweden, we have started looking for possible alternatives elsewhere in Europe to host the event this year," said Valve. https://www.pcgamer.com/dota-2-championship-must-move-because-sweden-wont-classify-it-as-an-elite-sporting-event/ Dota 2 is one of the most prominent eSports in the world, with its world championships having a prize pool of over $40,000,000. The Swedish government has now set a precedent for any further eSports tournaments happening in Sweden: Even in times post Covid, top tier teams from non-Schengen areas will not be guaranteed to be allowed to get a Visa or enter Sweden until there is a new legal grounds to make decisions on. The government's decision to not intervene/appeal has effectively banned international on-site eSports championships from ever happening again in Sweden. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bionic 50,111 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 This feels like the right decision. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic 49,376 Posted June 22, 2021 Author Share Posted June 22, 2021 1 minute ago, bionic said: This feels like the right decision. Care to elaborate why? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsemanche 97,808 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Are eSports usually included in sports federations and stuff like that? Regardless of that, I don't get the reasoning behind this. What's the excuse to ban it? Wouldn't it generate revenue to the host country anyway (if they wanna look at it from a profit POV)? Soft, soothing, and succulent Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bionic 50,111 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 5 minutes ago, Supersonic said: Care to elaborate why? Can you imagine selling to the public that you're allowing people to avoid COVID laws so they can come play video games? Most people don't understand eSports or view is as a legitimate 'sport'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic 49,376 Posted June 22, 2021 Author Share Posted June 22, 2021 6 minutes ago, bionic said: Can you imagine selling to the public that you're allowing people to avoid COVID laws so they can come play video games? Most people don't understand eSports or view is as a legitimate 'sport'. Yes, because Sports Associations all around the world have successfully sold the idea that driving a car real fast is also a "sport". Motorsports actually fullfills less checkmarks on the "what actually is a sport?" list than eSports, per definition is SHOULD be considered a sport because you actually even exert your body more than a Formula 1 driver. The problem is that the Associations are run by arch-conservative boomers that hate technology. There is a growing and huge interest in watching this (it actually gets broadcast on TV in some countries, ESPN reports on it, online streams of events trigger as much as 1 million unique simultaneous watchers in Dota 2 alone) and it's lucrative for a company to be a sponsor of an eSports org. And to be completely fair: As somebody who's not a fan of traditional sports I don't understand why the current events are allowed to bypass covid laws, and the legitimacy and importance of not only flying around the players but also letting so many people back into stadiums was not communicated whatsoever to the general public, other than "football good, football important". 9 minutes ago, alsemanche said: Are eSports usually included in sports federations and stuff like that? They are in some countries. The USA, France and South Korea for example. Another thing you have to take into consideration is that the Swedish government collapsed yesterday, people in the government were expecting of a big bang coming and were just bullsh*tting for a few weeks because they knew their time would be over soon anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlepotter 76,612 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 26 minutes ago, bionic said: Can you imagine selling to the public that you're allowing people to avoid COVID laws so they can come play video games? Most people don't understand eSports or view is as a legitimate 'sport'. Oh so it's just for this year? The title makes it sound like forever chaeri pls Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRose 397 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 now let's think about Eurovision, The different football leagues, Ascot in the UK etc . the hypocrisy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsemanche 97,808 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 6 minutes ago, BlueRose said: now let's think about Eurovision, The different football leagues, Ascot in the UK etc . the hypocrisy And the Olympics Soft, soothing, and succulent Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florian 20,017 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 44 minutes ago, bionic said: Can you imagine selling to the public that you're allowing people to avoid COVID laws so they can come play video games? Most people don't understand eSports or view is as a legitimate 'sport'. Can you imagine educating your population on what's eSport instead ? Wow so hard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic 49,376 Posted June 22, 2021 Author Share Posted June 22, 2021 14 minutes ago, littlepotter said: Oh so it's just for this year? The title makes it sound like forever The decision is forever and extends to post covid times. The decision has basically set a precedent of allowing Sweden to reject any future Visa of an eSports player on a whim/use them as political ping-pong balls. Germany has had a similar ruling (that was decided in 2011) and the country essentially has been voide from international competitions because of this as well Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GipJo 2,912 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Well nobody cares, it's their lost that they don't want a part of the sweet eSports money just because these governments are unable to accept new things. ESports has been one of the most growing markets in the whole world, even Olympics has been considering eSports as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFXIV WhiteMage 6,316 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 It’s their loss. E-sports will continue to develop and grow. Approximately $1 Billion is in esport (around $8 Billion in NBA for comparison). And with the advent of technology, it’s bound to grow even more Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAMROD 117,118 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Never knew we will see the day where we will witnessing boomers moments from the supposedly progressive nation that is Sweden. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ✧*:･ﾟ ᶠʳᵒⁿᵗ ᵗᵒʷᵃʳᵈ ᵉⁿᵉᵐʸ (*´艸｀*) ♡♡♡ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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