Cover-Credits:
B8, the organization of popular Dota 2 player, Danil "Dendi" Ishutin, reclaimed its spot in the Lower Division of the Eastern European (EEU) league after Valve intervened. B8 had reported a couple of weeks back that Dendi had been removed from the Majors Registration page by the previous holder of the slot who was team XactJlepbI's manager. B8 then apparently managed to contact Valve who reviewed the agreements and messages with the XactJlepbI manager and granted B8 the slot. The slot will allow Dendi and his new teammates to compete in the Lower Division of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 without having to win the open qualifiers.
A Valve intervention makes B8 the owner of the disputed Lower Division DPC slot
“After viewing the confirmation of our agreements and messages with the previous owner of the slot, Valve returned the slot to B8 organization,” the organization tweeted. Moreover, it recommended that other organizations also work with slot owners through agreements to prevent future occurrences of such situations.
On 27th Oct 2021, B8 explained the reasons behind the removal of Dendi from Valve's Majors Registration website. In the tweets, it was stated that Dendi had not been kicked out of the team, but that it was XactJlepbI's manager who had done so. This was because the slot in question belonged to XactJlepbI's manager since the two parties had merged in March 2021 for the second regional league.
Originally, B8 had been eliminated from the Lower Division, but as a result of their merger with XactJlepbI at that time, they were able to play in the Lower Division. The team played under the B8 tag and the majority of the players left after the previous season ended.
Though originally, the slot was owned by XactJlepbI's manager, as B8 pointed out in its latest tweets, there had been some agreements and messages that gave them ownership. The company was able to show these documents to Valve. Valve reviewed the evidence and handed the slot over to B8.
The current roster of B8 includes Dendi and Azamat "Gatciy" Gatciev. The final three players are Alexander "V1olent" Park, Nikolay "Bb3px" Evdokimychev, and Anatoly "Brz" Krupnov. These three players' spots are not yet guaranteed. With a Lower Division spot now in their possession, the team can now start preparing for the upcoming DPC 2021-22. B8 is also currently competing in the Dota 2 Champions League 2021 S5.
Similar to the previous season, the upcoming DPC 2021-22's ruling states that the individual who registers the team on the Majors Registration Page has full ownership of the slot and can remove any player at their discretion. The B8 problem was not unique, other teams and players faced similar concerns. The rule is still in place and since it remains unchanged, similar problems can potentially arise in the future. Only time will tell whether Valve will step in if the need arises.
