- Reality Rift shuts down its Dota 2 team due to the ongoing pandemic, insufficient support for the competitive scene from Valve and budgetary constraints for Reality Rift.
- kYxY and NutZ are now free agents while AlaCrity and Hustla are still contracted by Reality Rift. The club is ready to consider proposals for their transfers.
- Reality Rift could return in 2021 if the situation eases up
Singaporean Dota 2 organization, Reality Rift has shut down its Dota 2 team. This was announced by the CEO & Co-founder of the organization, Ilya Vlasov on his Twitter profile. However, he also added that Reality Rift could return to Dota 2 in 2021 if the global situation eases up.
Why Reality Rift Had To Shut Down Its Dota 2 Team?
Vlasov explained that the club was forced to take this step due to the ongoing pandemic, insufficient support for the competitive scene from Valve and budgetary constraints for Reality Rift.
There are multiple reasons of a similar importance that led to that decision:
- Travel restrictions resulted in team management and training difficulties
- Low effort management of the esports scene from Valve
- Budget pressure on core business of Reality Rift (gaming arena in Singapore) due to covid restrictions in retail
Vlasov also made it clear that Reality Rift would not have shut shop if it wasn’t for the lockdowns and the subsequent movement restrictions that followed.
| Image via Reality Rift
AFK Gaming spoke to Vlasov after this announcement.
Q. If Valve had introduced an official Regional Online League a little earlier, how would that have affected this decision?
Vlasov: It depends on the format and dates. If it was more like a placeholder similar to 3rd party tournaments (which are really cool btw), then nothing would've changed. If it was a more solid and transparent story with the whole cycle announced, then it's a matter of planning the business case.
Q. What can Valve do to rectify the current situation?
Vlasov: I can't judge for another company that has its own strategy and priorities. It seems that esports it's just not a core thing for them, which I can understand from a business point of view. Of course, in an ideal world, they should've put efforts into growing the scene (Riot is a good example of how things should be done). But again, if esports is not a priority, then why would they spend resources on it if they can spend it somewhere else?
What happens to Reality Rift’s Players?
After the departure of Indonesian carry player, Andrew "Drew" Halim, Reality Rift only had four players in their lineup:
- Vincent “AlaCrity” Hiew Teck Yoong
- Lee "kYxY" Kong Yang
- Ravdan "Hustla" Narmandakh
- Wong "NutZ" Jeng Yih
According to Vlasov, the contracts of kYxY and NutZ come to an end on September 1, which effectively means that they’re free agents. The other two players AlaCrity and Hustla are still contracted with Reality Rift. However, the club is ready to consider proposals for their transfers.
RELATED: Valve's Silence Over The DPC is Deafening
It really is disheartening to see one of the more accomplished teams in the SEA region being shut down, in part due to Valve’s negligence of the Regional leagues and the lack of an official DPC schedule.
