Ukrainian side Natus Vincere and North American team beastcoast have announced their withdrawal from the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021.
In an official statement released on March 25, Na`Vi revealed that the main reason it pulled out was due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, beastcoast has enforced quarantine measures on its players following Steven “StingeR” Vargas’ positive COVID-19 test, and has decided to withdraw from the Major as well.
Just last week, Na`Vi’s Bogdan “Iceberg” Vasilenko and Andrii “ALWAYSWANNAFLY” Bondarenko were ruled out by the coronavirus. Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev and team coach Andrey “Mag” Chipenk were parachuted in as replacements.
Mag has now tested positive for COVID-19, while several players who came into contact with him have caught a fever. According to Singapore’s COVID-19 measures, if at least one player has tested positive upon arrival, the entire team has to self-quarantine.
To that end, Na`Vi chose to skip the Major due to the lack of time in getting viable substitutes and to avoid a prolonged quarantine, which would have jeopardised their return to the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season.
The DPC is also on Beastcoast’s agenda as it revealed on Twitter that four other players “may have been exposed” to the virus despite testing negative. While the organisation expressed its disappointment on missing the tournament, it has prioritised safety and is now focusing on their DPC preparations.
Two teams down, more to follow? The Major kicks off in a day but massive problems still plague the event. Will the show still go on?
