Manila Major 2016 Details Revealed

As announced last month, the final stop of the Dota 2 Major Series (before The International, that is) will be held in Manila, Philippines — dubbed the Manila Major. Earlier today, Valve released information regarding the event dates, the venue, and ticket pricing.

The Manila Major main event will take place from June 7 to June 12, at the Mall of Asia Arena. The venue, located in Pasay City within Metro Manila, is an indoor arena with a maximum seating capacity of 20,000. The arena regularly hosts internationally-acclaimed music artists, Philippine Basketball Association games, and other large-scale events. It is located right next to the Mall of Asia, which is the 11th largest shopping mall in the world. Valve also announced that the production company organizing the event will be PGL, who are known for their stunning production quality on Counter-Strike tournaments and events.

Tickets will sell at ₱50/100/200 (about £3 maximum) on the weekdays and ₱100/200/400 (about £6 maximum) on the weekends during the tournament proper. These prices are for three seating tiers, going from the cheapest to the most expensive ticket type. Fans have noted that the ticket prices are indeed very affordable, and that as a result this is a great opportunity for Filipino fans to watch the event live and in person.

Teams must have a finalized roster by March 27, as the regional qualifiers for the tournament will be held from May 3 to 6. Open qualifiers will be held from April 29 to May 2. According to Valve, rosters finalized during this period will remain up until the qualifiers of The International 2016, making this a period where teams must keep their lineups as is if they want to compete at the culminating event of the Major series.

This event is undoubtedly Valve’s love letter to one of the largest Dota 2 fanbases in the world. The passion of the Filipino Dota community can definitely be seen even from across the world, and for them to get an event as big as this is their reward. This tournament will likely go down in history as one of the first truly global eSports events on Philippine soil, if not for ESL One Manila already having that honor.

Source: Dota 2 Blog