Another Month of It's Gosu Madness

posted by Jaywalker, 1 year ago

Na'Vi was invited, but declined due to, to paraphrase, being too time-strapped in April and May. Therefore could not make it this time.

Regarding EG's absence from our list of invited teams-- we aren't angry at them, we don't hate them, et cetera. We have the utmost respect and admiration for EG as an organization, and we still consider ourselves to be good friends of their Dota 2 squad.

Our decision to not offer an invitational slot to them for this second season is the direct result of the unfortunate events which took place in our first season, when they were not present for their match against CLG in the Final Four. We take our obligations to both our sponsors and our viewers very seriously, and, to put it shortly, not having a semi-final match to broadcast to thousands of viewers who were waiting to see one is something we simply cannot and will not abide. It is in that vein that we decided that their behavior in our first event, accidental though it may have been, warranted more of a response than just the disqualification they received from that match.

We hope that EG will attempt to qualify into the tournament via our open qualifiers, and, speaking personally, I really want to see them in our field, as they're without a doubt one of the best teams on the planet. We just couldn't in good conscience extend another invitational slot to them following the disappointing events of last month, when so many other teams would consider it an honor and privilege to receive such billing. As is, though, we can only wish them the best of luck, and can only hope that they'll choose to participate in our open qualifiers... not just for their benefit or our benefit, but for the benefit of all the fans who wish to see them play.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for the second season of Monthly Madness. When we kicked things off in March, we had no idea if anyone would even watch the first season, let alone if we'd be able to secure support for a second. Thanks to the support of the viewership and community, though, we've now secured our place as one of the more popular recurring tournaments going.

We're going to be handling the open tournaments a bit differently, in that they'll be taking place sans any official stream up until the final eight teams are determined, then we'll be giving each match-up a featured broadcast during the first week of tournament play. That way more teams get to stand in the spotlight, and we get to broadcast more games for the community to enjoy. Draskyl and I will be back casting the action all on our newest streaming home, Own3D.tv!

I think this second season is going to be notable because we're bringing back the best elements of our first go around, while improving noticeably in other areas. It's going to be a blast, and we can't wait to share it with the community as a whole!