Rules and regulations in the Dota Pro Circuit help prevent abuses, like the Region-Lock Ruling. DPC NA Div 2 saw Fart Studios forfeit in the league due to region lock rules. The forfeit comes after two consecutive matches against Sand King Gomez and team ALPHA. After these two forfeitures, Fart Studios decided as a team to resign from their league matches.
This entire debacle started during the beginning of ESL DreamLeague Season 19. ESL returns with a third-party tournament serving as a prelude to the Berlin Major, a Valve-sponsored ESL Major. The ESL Pro Tour system invited teams from all regions. This tour is separate from the DPC and serves as a third-party league for teams to compete in.
The talent lineup for DreamLeague 19 includes Andrew “Jenkins” Jenkins and Brian “BSJ” Canavan. Both are prominent content creators in the Dota 2 community. Their content centers around creating guides and making state-of-the-game videos. However, both of them also compete professionally in the NA DPC Division 2 league.
DreamLeague 19 made it so both of them had to travel to the studio located in Stockholm. With their departure from the physical North American region, they are ineligible to compete. Regulations of PGL, like the Region-Lock ruling, ruled that at least three players must be in North America to compete. Since publication and research, it has not been noted who the third Fart Studios player out of NA is.
BSJ took to Twitter to summarize the situation, as well as put his thoughts on the matter in a Twitlonger. It should also be noted that Jenkins proofread the post. PGL’s ruling on Fart Studios effectively puts them out of contention for Division 2 with an automatic 0-14 record. Despite this, Fart Studios look to reenter contention via the Open Qualifiers for the Summer DPC League.
