Paul “Redeye” Chaloner will not be working The International 7

Paul “Redeye” Chaloner, a veteran esports host and commentator, announced that he would not be hosting The International 7.

In a post to his Twitter account, he explained that Valve told him in advance he would not be taking up the role, and expressed his understanding of the situation:

While I'm personally disappointed, I don't have any bad feelings towards Valve. This is a business, they must do what they believe is right for their product and honestly that's the business I chose to work in. I think our fans often forget how we get hired for events. It's rare that we get to choose which events we want to do and much more about who the event organiser wants to hire. Part of that is popularity, part of it is skill and ability and part of it is the x-factor - what does the organiser want their event to look and feel like. Sometimes, that's not going to be me, that's just how it is.

The popular personality has taken part in Dota 2 events for nearly three years, starting with ESL One Frankfurt in June 2014. Since then, he’s become a staple in the community, even spawning one of the most popular gifs in esports memedom.

His history goes back even before the days of the original Warcraft III mod. He began shoutcasting in 2002 with much smaller tournaments, and he’s made his way through a number of games, most notably Starcraft 2 and Counter-Strike. His 200th event for a Counter-Strike event will be taking place in July. He also consults about esports matters on behalf of his agency, Code Red.

The personality will be missed this year, as fans are already expressing their condolences on Twitter and Reddit, but as Paul expressed, the show must go on.