Dota 2 community criticizes Bali Major after tournament was dogged by production issues

The Dota 2 community has been very critical of the Bali Major after the event was rocked by production problems, which followed co-organizers Epulze from the Lima Major.

As the Bali Major 2023 wrapped up last weekend, it crowned Gaimin Gladiators as just the second three-time consecutive Major winners. Melchior ‘Seleri’ Hillenkamp’s team continues its LAN winning streak ahead of The International 2023, taking its prize money earnings since the start of the year to just under $1.3 million.

However, the Bali Major may be less remembered for Gaimin Gladiator’s incredible achievement and more for the troublesome production problems that occurred throughout the event. 

Problems arose before the event started, as some fans felt the ticket prices for the first Major in Indonesia were “unreasonably expensive”, with the standard tickets costing $388 USD, more than the average monthly wage in Indonesia. 

Paid Premium just to Watch Half The Screen by u/nuradiva in DotA2

During the latter stages of the event – the only ones where fans could watch the matches in person – spectators found themselves sitting at an outdoor stage rather than an indoor one. On paper, it’s a nice setting with Bali’s sunny weather; in practice, the sun covers up the stage screen, making it hard for fans to enjoy the games.

A Reddit post on the Dota 2 subreddit showed such an example, highlighting half of the stage screen covered by sunlight, with only the shadowed parts of the screen visible. 

Sitting out in the hot sun, especially in a tropical climate like Bali, can also get quite uncomfortable. This has led to many fans bringing along umbrellas to cover themselves from the sunlight. 

Welcome to Umbrella Major lads by u/nuradiva in DotA2

These problems followed the tournament’s co-organizers, Epulze, from the previous Major it hosted earlier this year, the Lima Major, which faced its own production problems. 

The Lima Major started with a plethora of delays and tech pauses. During one of the games, a technical pause was called as a player booth was falling apart.

Many are already comparing both Majors to the disastrous 2016 Shanghai Major, where players had their personal belongings stolen from their hotels, and even Gabe Newell publicly fired hosts and the production company in charge of the event.