- Valve confirmed Fnatic grabs the 12th and last invitational spot for Dota 2’s TI11
- The confusion was brought about due to Valve’s miscommunication issues in ruling
- Fans and teams are not happy about Valve not explaining the rulings well
Valve’s communication issues on its ruling system caused confusion and fans and score tracking websites thought Outsiders had beaten Fnatic for the last TI11 invitational spot.
Valve Confirms Fnatic’s Spot at TI11
Dota 2’s The International 2022 is fast approaching and teams are scrambling to get a slot in the competition. This is a logistical endeavor for them and Valve, so mistakes can sometimes happen. Valve has been having some communication issues which are confusing both teams and fans. Recently, the company seemingly tossed a new rule into the Dota Pro Circuit, which impacts what teams are getting a direct invitation to the event.
This caused some commotion amongst fans who pointed out there was a discrepancy between the “official” Valve DPC website standings and “unofficial” sites like Liquipedia’s standings. The website showed that Fnatic was actually qualified for TI11, not the Virtus.pro roster. Valve cleared up the confusion with a Twitter post.
This means that Fnatic is the 12th and final team with a direct invite to The International 2022. However, this means that Outsiders will have to go through the TI qualifiers instead. According to Liquipedia, Outsiders placed just above Fnatic but the DPC website tells a different story.
What Caused the Confusion?
The whole confusion started when multiple sources, including Liquipedia, calculated Fnatic’s score after they were eliminated from the Arlington DPC Major over the weekend. They were just 0.05 points below Outsiders, who had 1020.05 total points, beating out Fnatic, and getting the last invitational spot for TI11.
However, Valve’s official standings say otherwise. According to it, Fnatic gets that last spot because Outsiders get penalty points for removing players mid-season. When added to the team’s total score, they were rounded rather than being directly applied at their initial value. This leaves Fnatic at the static 1020 DPC points earned, while Outsiders is “officially” sitting at 1019.
Naturally, fans and teams were not happy with Valve’s decision, as nowhere on the official DPC rule page is said that points are rounded. Instead, everyone was tracking scores using exact math based on set percentage deductions to calculate placements.
Although one may forgive Valve for not being able to communicate its rulings with “unofficial” sources, it has to be said that there may be internal communication issues as well. For example, the Spanish version of the official blog also listed Outsiders instead of Fnatic as the claimant for the 12th place.
Whatever Valve’s internal issues are, the fact is that Fnatic will compete in TI11, while Outsiders will have to go through the Eastern Europe regional qualifiers for a shot at qualifying or reaching the Last Chance Qualifier.
