Shopify Rebellion Reveals Why They Withdrew From Elite League Dota 2 Tournament
Earlier this month, FISSURE (producer) and ESB (organizer) announced a new Dota 2 tournament called Elite League, scheduled to start on 31st March 2024, Sunday.
A total of 15 teams from around the world were invited for this online tournament featuring a total prize pool of $960,0000 USD.
Shopify Rebellion was one of the invites, they had initially accepted the invited but surprisingly withdrew from the tournament later, its slot given away to Team Secret.
There was no reason provided for this withdrawal until recently when Shopify Rebellion’s Starcraft II Manager, Dario "TLO" Wünsch, took to Reddit and explained why the team decided to step down from the event.
Shopify Rebellion's Team Manager Explains Why Shopify Rebellion Stepped Away From Elite League
Shopify Rebellion had withdrew from the upcoming Elite League without providing any announcement or public reasoning. However, TLO who co-founded Shopify's esports program and leads the competitive side of Shopify, shed light on the reason behind this decision.
Citing the unique composition of their team, TLO highlighted the challenges posed by participation in multiple concurrent tournaments, including DreamLeague Season 22, DreamLeague Season 23 Qualifiers, ESL One Birmingham 2024, PGL Wallachia Season 1, and others.
He emphasized the complexities of securing Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer’s Visas for all events, made practically impossible by the timing constraints and the added intricacies stemming from the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.
Furthermore, TLO pointed out the potential toll extensive travel would take on their diverse roster, comprising players from various regions.
In a proactive effort to safeguard player well-being, Shopify Rebellion made the strategic decision to streamline their schedule, prioritizing participation in Dreamleague and other LAN events.
TLO also acknowledged the competitive advantage enjoyed by European Dota 2 teams who can partake in major online events from their home due to the majority of online tournaments being held in Europe itself.
The withdrawal from certain tournaments was deemed essential in order to strike a balance between competitive obligations and ensuring the health and performance of Shopify Rebellion’s players.
Commenting on the decision, TLO stated, "Burnout was another consideration, especially with our players being from many different home regions, people will be on the road a significant amount of the year and we decided to prioritize Dreamleague and LANs for now. Definitely a bit of a disadvantage for non-European teams, as they can play the big online events from home if they choose to, which isn't an option for us. Ultimately it came down to what worked for our team as well as our players' performance and well-being."
Currently, Shopify Rebellion is playing in the DreamLeague Season 23 North America Closed Qualifiers in an attempt to qualify for the main tournament where 26,100 EPT points will be distributed between the participants.
Shopify Rebellion is currently in the 9th position with 1120 points on the EPT Leaderboard and needs to gather more points to secure a top-eight finish, further securing a spot in Riyadh Masters 2024 at Esports World Cup 2024 which is expected to be be one of Dota 2's biggest tournament this year, as per some speculations even bigger than TI.
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