TI10: Invictus Gaming's JT- tests positive for COVID-19

Chinese team Invictus Gaming (IG) announced on Thursday (30 September) that their Malaysian offlaner, Thiay "JT-" Jun Wen, has tested positive for the coronavirus just over a week away from the start of The International 10 (TI10), this year's iteration of Dota 2's world championship tournament.

JT- is now the fourth player hit by COVID-19 after three Team Aster players as well as their coach and other staff members tested positive in the lead-up to TI10 on Wednesday (29 September).

In a post on their official Twitter account, IG said that, following the news of positive cases among Team Aster's ranks, they arranged precautionary tests for their own players which produced negative results. However, they added that JT- "started to feel unwell" on the morning of Wednesday, and tested positive for the virus in a subsequent test.

IG said that JT- is currently recovering from his fever in self-isolation. A secondary test for the rest of the team has also been arranged, though the organisation clarified that their supporting staff has only produced negative results thus far.

IG are one of the five Chinese teams that qualified for TI10, alongside PSG.LGD, Team Aster, Vici Gaming, and Elephant. All five teams have been bootcamping near the tournament's venue in Bucharest, Romania and are staying in the same hotel.

With the exception of IG, all the other Chinese teams said that their players have not produced positive results following the news of Team Aster's players and staff testing positive.

As of the time of publication, both Dota 2 developer Valve Software and TI10 organiser PGL have not yet made any statements on the situation.

TI10 is set to begin on 7 October and will run until 17 October. With multiple players testing positive just over a week before it starts, there is growing concern over whether the tournament can be safely and successfully hosted.

TI10 features 18 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world competing to claim the title of world champions and the lion's share of the event's over US$40 million prize pool. TI10's main event from 12 to 17 October will notably be held in front of a live audience in the Arena Națională in Bucharest, Romania.

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