BTC Galaxy Battles defends the Philippines, more teams withdraw

As expected, the number of teams withdrawing from Galaxy Battles II continues to increase. With no longer being a Major when it was canceled by Valve itself earlier this week, following controversy over the Philippine government’s drug-testing regulations failing to guarantee its suitability for teams. player.

The price to pay is extremely high for Fallout Gaming, but Galaxy Battles BTC still defended this regulation in an official statement on Saturday.

[penci_blockquote style=”style-2″ align=”none” author=”” font_style=”italic”]“We have secured the requirements set forth by the Electronic and Entertainment Commission of the Philippines and we continue to comply with regulations and regulations. We therefore encourage teams and individual members to abide by the laws of the countries in which they compete.

Our company feels this regulation is a step in the right direction to legalize esport. We are currently working hard to promote a healthier and quality gaming community.

In compliance with the Philippine government, Galaxy Battles management believes these regulations will help shape the future of esports. We feel these regulations are on the right track to legalize esports.

We believe there is a way to grow a healthy esports community in Southeast Asia. This was made possible with the pioneering Galaxy Battles II tournament that ushered in a fresh start in esports.”[/penci_blockquote]

Fallout Gaming did not say exactly if the tournament would be held after the prize money was halved and the Dota Pro Circuit spots were also cut. But if BTC continues this plan, this will definitely not be an attractive tournament anymore. As can be seen, the major teams invited earlier have announced that they will be withdrawing, including Virtus.pro, Team Liquid, and Team Secret. Last weekend, two more teams officially withdrew: OpTic gaming and Team Kinguin.

Due to the recent decision from Valve and after many conversations with our team, we have decided that the OpTic Dota 2 team will not be participating in the upcoming Galaxy Battles event in the Philippines.

— Kodiak (@KodiakShroyer) 6 January 2018

We will not participate in the Galaxy Battles 2 tournament. We decided to focus on upcoming qualifiers, next lan event for us is SLTV Minor in Shanghai.

— mr0 (@mr0dota) 7 January 2018

So 5 out of 16 teams have withdrawn and many more teams are expected to follow. The Galaxy Battles lineup includes names like Newbee, OG, LGD.Forever Young, Evil Geniuses, TNC Pro Team and Mineski. These teams will likely stay home to prepare for the busy season ahead, instead of flying to Manila to claim the remaining $500,000 prize pool.