China has decided all four participants at the ESL One Stockholm Major after Vici Gaming forfeited its Dota Pro Circuit 2021/2022 China Division I Tour 2 series against Royal Never Give Up.

Both VG and Royal Never Give Up were tied for fourth in Division I, sporting 4-3 records. This necessitated a tiebreaker to determine the fourth and final qualifier to the Stockholm Major in May. But VG was unable to play the series, thus handing RNG a 2-0 win and a Major berth.



Why did Vici Gaming forfeit with Stockholm Major qualification on the line?

ESL One Stockholm Major announced for May 20 to 22
Credit: ESL

An unfortunate clash with the DPC’s substitution rules and a failed appeal to the tournament organizer meant that VG had to give up their chance at the Stockholm Major. Due to Valve’s rules, a substitute could only play for up to four matches.

The organization explained that Zhou “Yang” Haiyang had joined the team mid-season, and was thus considered a substitute, according to a statement on Weibo. He reached the four-match limit imposed on substitutes and was thus unable to continue playing in the tiebreakers.

Former offlaner Li “Irving” Jian, meanwhile, has a lower back issue that flared up and was thus unable to sit for long periods, the organization said. VG attempted to resolve the issue with the DPC CN organizer, but did not get approval for a substitute. Therefore, with the team missing an offlaner, VG forfeited the tiebreakers.

DPC CN teams qualified for Stockholm Major

  1. PSG.LGD
  2. Xtreme Gaming
  3. Team Aster
  4. Royal Never Give Up

The Major will take place from May 12 to 22. You can check out all the teams qualified for it here.

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