Dota Pro Circuit 2021 Preview

After a failed season and no world championship in 2020, Dota Pro Circuit is preparing to finally restart. Usually, the Dota 2 circuit starts around October. But given the circumstances, I think we should be glad it starts at all.

New Rules

For 2021, DPC will have new rules and a new format. Minors have been replaced by Regional Leagues. These leagues will determine the Majors participants. The circuit itself is divided into two seasons. At the end of each of these seasons, there will be a Major.

Roster locks are now seasonal, in the sense that a team is discouraged to make roster changes prior to the end of the season, which is when the Major ends. Transfer periods begin right after that big event. But even then, every roster change incurs a 15% penalty on a team’s points.

Stand-ins can be used for up to 4 league matches, under the condition that the stand-in player either competes in a lower league or he doesn’t compete in a league at all.

Major Format

The Majors’ format has changed as well. These types of tournaments will feature 18 teams instead of the usual number (16). And these participants will be selected in the following way:

• 4 competitors from Europe
• 4 competitors from China
• 3 competitors from Southeast Asia
• 3 competitors from CIS
• 2 competitors from North America
• 2 competitors from South America

Prizes

Each Major will offer $500,000 and 2700 DPC points to its top 8 participants. These rewards will be distributed in the following way:

• 1^st place: $200,000; 500 points
• 2^nd place: $100,000; 450 points
• 3^rd place: $75,000; 400 points
• 4^th place: $50,000; 350 points
• 5^th – 6^th place: $25,000; 300 points
• 7^th – 8^th place: $12,500; 200 points

The International 2021

As usual, the top 12 teams will be directly invited to The International. The remaining 6 teams will have a chance to qualify via regional qualifiers. However, this time there won’t be any Open Qualifiers.

Regional Leagues

Each region features a Regional League. This league is divided into an upper division and a lower division. Each division is made up of 8 teams. The league lasts for 6 weeks, but the results are preserved for the duration of the whole year. At the end of this 6-week period, the bottom two teams of the upper division are relegated while the top two teams of the lower division are promoted. The rewards and punishments are described below:

Upper Division

• 1^st place: $30,000; 500 points; qualifies to the Major Playoffs
• 2^nd place: $28,000; 300 points; qualifies to the Major Group Stage
• 3^rd place: $27,000; 200 points; qualifies to the Major Wild Card Stage (only in China, Europe, Southeast Asia, and CIS)
• 4^th place: $26,000; 100 points; qualifies to the Major Wild Card Stage (only in Europe and China)
• 5^th place: $25,000; 50 points; remains in the upper division
• 6^th place: $24,000; 0 points; remains in the upper division
• 7^th place: $23,000; 0 points; relegated to the lower division
• 8^th place: $22,000; 0 points; relegated to the lower division

Lower Division

• 1^st place: $17,000; promoted to the upper division
• 2^nd place: $16,000; promoted to the upper division
• 3^rd place: $15,000; remains in the lower division
• 4^th place: $11,000; remains in the lower division
• 5^th place: $9,000; remains in the lower division
• 6^th place: $7,000; remains in the lower division
• 7^th – 8^th place: gets eliminated and replaced by an Open Qualifiers team

Teams

These are the teams that have been directly invited to join the upper division of the regional leagues.

• Europe: Team Liquid, OG, Team Secret, Team Nigma
• CIS: Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere, Team Spirit, Live to Win
• China: PSG.LGD, EHOME, Vici Gaming, Elephant
• Southeast Asia: TNC Predator, Fnatic, T1, BOOM Esports
• North America: Quincy Crew, Evil Geniuses, 4 Zoomers, Sadboys
• South America: SG e-sports, Thunder Predator, Infamous, beastcoast

Dates

In most regions, the new Dota Pro Circuit is scheduled to start on January 18^th. The CIS region will start a bit later, on January 21^st. The first season ends on February 26^th – 28^th, depending on the region.

 

Photo credit: Valve