The 2021/2022 Dota Pro Circuit concluded with The International 11, which took place a few months ago. Tundra Esports won the most prestigious competition in Dota 2 and proved to the world that it is one of the best teams.
Similar to previous years, the post-TI roster shuffle was very interesting to watch because teams made some crucial changes. Those things were necessary because the Dota 2 teams had to prepare for the upcoming 2022/2023 DPC.
Even though we will have to wait for around a month from now until we see the best in action, Valve provided all of the details we need to know. Although some things will remain the same, we should know a few intriguing aspects, so let’s go through them.
General Details
The 2023 season will be almost the same as the one before, but Valve decided to make some important changes. The most notable one is the fact that each division will last only three weeks instead of six, meaning we will have more games to watch. Furthermore, the two divisions won’t be played simultaneously because we will have the chance to watch them separately.
We weren’t surprised by these changes because they wanted to ensure that fans can watch their favorite teams. Previously, the two divisions were overlapping, which meant that Division II had hardly any viewers. Unsurprisingly, most people preferred to watch the best in the world.
As mentioned earlier, some teams experienced several big roster changes. Speaking of rosters, the new DPC will implement roster locks. In fact, the first one happened at 11:59 PM PT on December 9th, so the teams had to make the necessary changes before that.
Those who remove active players will receive a penalty. Valve decided to remove 20% of the DPC points to a team that removes a player from its roster. Interestingly, this penalty will affect the currently-accumulated points, as well as the potential points that the team will get from completing in the current league.
Unsurprisingly, teams can also use substitutes. However, Valve only allows them to have a substitute for four out of seven matches in the Regional League.
Following Tour 3, the best 12 teams with enough DPC points will be invited to The International 2023. Of course, we will also see six more participants that will have to take part in the regional qualifiers to earn their spots.
The Format
As mentioned several times, the Dota Pro Circuit for 2023 will have three tours – Winter, Spring, and Summer. Each one will have an Open Qualifier as well as a Closed Qualifier. Once those things are over, we will have access to the Regional League.
There will be a total of six Regional Leagues based on the regions – China, North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Western Europe. Naturally, each league will have its own organizers, such as PGL, Epulze, Paragon Events, ESB, Perfect World, and more.
Like before, we will have Division I and Division II in the regional leagues. Each one will consist of 8 teams, and once the first tour is over, the top 2 teams from Div II will advance to Div I, whereas those who finish last will be removed. As for those in Division I, the best four squads will attend the Major.
The Majors
Although each Division will be interesting to watch, there is no arguing that the Majors will attract many more fans. While we are on the topic of Majors, regions have at least two guaranteed slots. However, since some parts of the world have performed better in the last DPC, they have more slots. For example, Western Europe and China have four, whereas Eastern Europe and SEA have three.
Of course, the Dota 2 Majors will also give DPC points and cash rewards. The winners will take home $200K and 400 points for the first Major. What’s interesting is that the subsequent Majors (2nd and 3rd) will give more DPC points than the first one. Hence, this makes them more important.
Groups & Playoffs
Although there might be some changes to the Major rules, we already know some information about the Groups and the Playoffs. Like before, the 18 teams will be split into two groups of nine. The top four will advance to the Upper Bracket, whereas those that finish 5th and 6th go to the Lower Bracket.
In terms of the playoffs, the teams will be in a double-elimination bracket where all matches are Bo3, except for the Final.
Conclusion
As mentioned, the new DPC is just around the corner, meaning we will have loads of interesting events to watch. The action kicks off on January 8 in NA and WEU, whereas SEA and EEU will kick off on January 9th. One day later, we will have the chance to watch South America. As for China, the teams will start playing on January 5th.
Each region has several teams that people will pay attention to, so it will be fun to see what happens. Unsurprisingly, Western Europe will be the one that most fans will keep an eye on because the teams there are on another level. If we check Division I, we will see names like OG, Tundra Esports, GG, Nigma, ITB, Secret, Entity, and Liquid. Needless to say, each one has what it takes to win.
