A disastrous start.
The ongoing Lima Major was supposed to have been the coming out party for the Latin American Dota 2 scene. Instead the event has been plagued with technical problems, resulting in much unhappiness from fans watching online.
During the Lima Majors, fans had to wait for a grand opening ceremony, only to have the first day of the knockout stage delayed by two hours. Additionally, a technical issue occurred on co-organizing partner Epulze’s streaming channel, causing the opening ceremony to be skipped within the first hour of the event, leading up to the match between Gaimin Gladiator and Team Aster.
This technical issue caused upset in the live commentary section of the Lima Majors, with viewers demanding an explanation from the organizers for the unexpected delay and skip. However, the organizers did not provide any explanation.
The problems continued during other major matchups, including Shopify Rebellion versus Team Spirit and PSG,LGD versus Team Spirit. Connection issues, operating system crashes, screen and sound problems, and other technical difficulties caused multiple pauses during matches on the first day.
The audience who watched live at the San Miguel Arena also had complaints about the ventilation treatment, resulting in poor air circulation inside the venue, unsafe booth conditions, and more serious hardware disruptions during matches, which were not visible to online viewers at that time.
These complications caused the tournament to drag on for almost 17 hours since the opening ceremony at 7.00 am SGT. Both online and offline viewers expressed their concerns on Twitter and other social media platforms. Some individuals from competing teams also expressed frustrations about the mishaps that occurred on their opening day.
This is not the first time issues have arisen during the Lima Major. On February 22nd, many people complained that the first games of the group stage were behind schedule, with technical issues such as lag, reduced audio/video quality during streaming, and sound problems causing delays during the opening group stage involving teams like Talon Esports, Tundra, Geek Slate, and Entity.
This bad start has undoubtedly dampened the excitement of fans who eagerly anticipated their favorite teams, especially those who watched the game online with significant broadcast time differences. Unless the organizers address these issues soon, the Lima Majors could surpass the 2016 Shanghai Major as the worst esports tournament in history.
