History of the Majors in South Asia
Very soon, ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 will be held in Indonesia. It is the first LAN tournament of the international level since the pandemic outbreak and the third Dota 2 Major for the South Asian region. Let's remember the history of the two previous majors.
The Manila Major
- Date: June 07-12, 2016
- Venue: Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines
- Tournament organizer: PGL
- Prize fund: $3,000,000
- Champion: OG
The Manila Major became the third major in Dota 2 history and the largest tournament in South Asia. It was held in LAN format in a rented Mall of Asia Arena, with a total capacity of 16,000 spectators. The tickets for the tournament were sold out long before its start.
At that time, The Manila Major was the final stage before The International 2016. Many teams saw it as the last opportunity to receive a direct invitation to the main tournament of the year. OG and Team Liquid met in the grand final of the tournament. Although the second was considered the favorites, OG won and took the championship title.
It is worth noting the tournament organizer, which had never worked with events of this scale before. The flawless organization of The Manila Major helped PGL establish itself as a reliable tournament organizer for Valve.
The Kuala Lumpur Major
- Date: November 09-18, 2018
- Venue: Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Tournament organizer: PGL and ImbaTV
- Prize fund: $1,000,000
- Champion: Virtus.pro
A year and a half later, the Dota 2 majors returned to South Asia, this time to Malaysia. The event took place at the Axiata Arena, with a maximum capacity of 16,000 spectators. This time the total prize pool of the championship was $1,000,000. Unlike the previous major, The Kuala Lumpur Major was part of the DPC system. Teams no longer competed for direct invitations but instead received DPC points that determined the TI9 participants.
The Kuala Lumpur Major's final match between Virtus.pro and Team Secret remains the best for many viewers to this day. The teams played a full BO5 streak, after which Virtus.pro became the winner.
The Singapore Major
- Date: March 27 - April 04, 2021
- Venue: Singapore
- Tournament organizer: PGL and One Esports
- Prize fund: $500,000
The third major in the South Asian region will start very soon, on March 27. Initially, the tournament was supposed to take place last year, but all tournaments were postponed due to the pandemic outbreak. This tournament will be the first international LAN event in Dota 2 in a long time. All its games will be held at the Singapore hotel Fairmont Singapore. Still, viewers will be able to watch it online only. Soon, we will know the name of The Singapore Major winner!