Major Changes For The DPC February 1st, 2020 19:01 GMT Text by Julmust Graphics by Valve Major Changes For The DPC

Ever since its inception in 2017, the Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) has been constantly evolving. It has transitioned from a free-for-all with direct invites in 2017/2018 to a more structured system with no direct invites in 2019/2020. Today, we can reveal that more big changes are planned for the DPC in 2020/2021. A decrease in the number of Majors, the removal of Minors, and new regional leagues are the main points.



A number of team representatives recently traveled to Valve's headquarters in Seattle, according to sources who have ties to the representatives. In this meeting, the new structure was presented to them. Not all top teams in Dota were represented at this meeting — due to visas, schedule conflicts, or other commitments — but all the top teams have been informed of the changes.



The changes

The new DPC TL;DR No Minors

Three Majors

Regional Leagues

Two tiers per league

Promotion / Relegation system

Open Qualifiers for T2 league



The regional leagues will primarily act as Major qualifiers. League placement, as well as Major placement, will influence the amount of DPC points a team is awarded. The regions will be divided as they currently are — North America, South America, Europe, CIS, Southeast Asia, and China — but the number of teams per league is still to be decided.



In true Valve fashion, this system will be open for anyone. However, climbing to the top will take longer than before due to the addition of a promotion/relegation system. New teams may only directly qualify for the Tier 2 league to start off with. The lowest-placing teams of the Tier 2 league will be removed from the league and will have to play open qualifiers to reclaim their spot. Meanwhile, the top two teams of the Tier 2 league will be promoted to the Tier 1 league and the bottom two teams of the Tier 1 league will be relegated to Tier 2.



The goal of this system is to provide stability for established teams while still allowing new teams to climb their way up the ladder. Our sources tell us that there are plans for a prize pool for the regional leagues, but at this point in time the size and distribution of the prize pool is unknown. The leagues will also act as a "soft" region lock. If a team from Region A decides to compete in Region B instead, they will forfeit their current league spot and have to qualify to the Tier 2 league through open qualifiers.



Commentary

Above are all the facts we've managed to procure. However, there are still a lot of things being worked out for this new system. At this point it is not known which teams will start in the Tier 1 leagues, for example. It's very possible that this will be based on performance during the 2019/2020 DPC but that is just speculation at this point. It's also not clear how Valve wants to handle roster moves, especially when it comes to multiple players simultaneously leaving/joining a team. The DPC points and prize pool distribution is also up in the air at the moment. Ideally, all participating teams would get a prize payout of some sort, in order to support the lower-tier teams in the leagues.



All in all, this is an exhilarating change for everyone who cares about Dota 2. Organisations and players will gain stability even if they're not a team competing at an international level yet. Those teams can now prove themselves in the regional leagues before setting out to compete internationally. The tournament organizers will be able to get more mileage out of a single DPC season. And, for us spectators and fans, this also means that we'll get more Dota on a consistent basis. Instead of having a burst of two weeks, with games going on almost 24/7, we'll have games spread out over a longer period of time. Ever since its inception in 2017, the Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) has been constantly evolving. It has transitioned from a free-for-all with direct invites in 2017/2018 to a more structured system with no direct invites in 2019/2020. Today, we can reveal that more big changes are planned for the DPC in 2020/2021. A decrease in the number of Majors, the removal of Minors, and new regional leagues are the main points.A number of team representatives recently traveled to Valve's headquarters in Seattle, according to sources who have ties to the representatives. In this meeting, the new structure was presented to them. Not all top teams in Dota were represented at this meeting — due to visas, schedule conflicts, or other commitments — but all the top teams have been informed of the changes.After the conclusion of TI10, the Minors will be a thing of the past. The year will feature just three Majors, down from the five Majors that's been the standard for the last two seasons. The extra room in the schedule will still be full of Dota, however. Valve will work with tournament organizers to implement a two-tiered regional league system. The decrease in the number of Majors will allow these leagues to run over a longer period of time. The leagues will, most likely, start as online leagues. However, as tournament organizers can bid on running these leagues, there is a possibility of transitioning to a LAN format in the future.The regional leagues will primarily act as Major qualifiers. League placement, as well as Major placement, will influence the amount of DPC points a team is awarded. The regions will be divided as they currently are — North America, South America, Europe, CIS, Southeast Asia, and China — but the number of teams per league is still to be decided.In true Valve fashion, this system will be open for anyone. However, climbing to the top will take longer than before due to the addition of a promotion/relegation system. New teams may only directly qualify for the Tier 2 league to start off with. The lowest-placing teams of the Tier 2 league will be removed from the league and will have to play open qualifiers to reclaim their spot. Meanwhile, the top two teams of the Tier 2 league will be promoted to the Tier 1 league and the bottom two teams of the Tier 1 league will be relegated to Tier 2.The goal of this system is to provide stability for established teams while still allowing new teams to climb their way up the ladder. Our sources tell us that there are plans for a prize pool for the regional leagues, but at this point in time the size and distribution of the prize pool is unknown. The leagues will also act as a "soft" region lock. If a team from Region A decides to compete in Region B instead, they will forfeit their current league spot and have to qualify to the Tier 2 league through open qualifiers.Above are all the facts we've managed to procure. However, there are still a lot of things being worked out for this new system. At this point it is not known which teams will start in the Tier 1 leagues, for example. It's very possible that this will be based on performance during the 2019/2020 DPC but that is just speculation at this point. It's also not clear how Valve wants to handle roster moves, especially when it comes to multiple players simultaneously leaving/joining a team. The DPC points and prize pool distribution is also up in the air at the moment. Ideally, all participating teams would get a prize payout of some sort, in order to support the lower-tier teams in the leagues.All in all, this is an exhilarating change for everyone who cares about Dota 2. Organisations and players will gain stability even if they're not a team competing at an international level yet. Those teams can now prove themselves in the regional leagues before setting out to compete internationally. The tournament organizers will be able to get more mileage out of a single DPC season. And, for us spectators and fans, this also means that we'll get more Dota on a consistent basis. Instead of having a burst of two weeks, with games going on almost 24/7, we'll have games spread out over a longer period of time. Administrator I'm dancing in the moonlight

Gamerhcp Profile Joined May 2015 708 Posts #2 Seems interesting at first. Better support for T2/T3 teams while removing the minors that nobody watched. Community News Writer Hello

PoulsenB Profile Joined June 2011 Poland 6422 Posts #3 Sound interesting, I hope it works out for everyone involved IdrA fan forever <3 || Notice me RTZ! <3 || the clueless one

PuroStrife Profile Joined September 2011 Korea (North) 112 Posts Last Edited: 2020-02-02 16:06:22 #4 Interesting.

I don't really want to go down the road of league of legend so I am skeptical to developer ran leagues, but let's see.



people call dota defence of russia and such.. It's called a JOKE. -

The legendary OG 5: Anathan, Jesse, Johan, Sebastien and Topias.

NasusAndDraven Profile Joined April 2015 1 Post #5 This was PPD suggestion 6 months ago

VGhost Profile Joined March 2011 United States 1377 Posts #6 On the whole I like the changes. Feel like it will make it easier for smaller orgs to keep a team up consistently, but will make it harder overall for stacks to compete.



Now if only they'd do something about the asymmetrical in-tournament scheduling... #4427 || I am not going to scan a ferret.

Yurie Profile Joined August 2010 7830 Posts Last Edited: 2020-02-01 21:45:03 #7 Really like the idea. There is no high level dota (outside of China) on for weeks at a time right now.

PuroStrife Profile Joined September 2011 Korea (North) 112 Posts #8 On February 02 2020 06:44 Yurie wrote:

Really like the idea. There is no high level dota (outside of China) on for weeks at a time right now.

That's because organizers don't organize anything, Dota has always been third-party reliant, just like Counter-Strike, it should not rely on Valve to organize something for there to be a scene.

That's because organizers don't organize anything, Dota has always been third-party reliant, just like Counter-Strike, it should not rely on Valve to organize something for there to be a scene. The legendary OG 5: Anathan, Jesse, Johan, Sebastien and Topias.

jdc214 Profile Joined May 2010 United States 70 Posts #9 On February 02 2020 07:12 Purolol wrote:

Show nested quote +

On February 02 2020 06:44 Yurie wrote:

Really like the idea. There is no high level dota (outside of China) on for weeks at a time right now.

That's because organizers don't organize anything, Dota has always been third-party reliant, just like Counter-Strike, it should not rely on Valve to organize something for there to be a scene.

That's because organizers don't organize anything, Dota has always been third-party reliant, just like Counter-Strike, it should not rely on Valve to organize something for there to be a scene.



If Valve still thought this was the case, the scene would be back to where it was in the early years with TI as the only Valve-sponsored tournament. Considering Valve is moving in the other direction, I believe this involvement is seen as either necessary or simply a possible improvement over the previous setups. If Valve still thought this was the case, the scene would be back to where it was in the early years with TI as the only Valve-sponsored tournament. Considering Valve is moving in the other direction, I believe this involvement is seen as either necessary or simply a possible improvement over the previous setups. Writer Steam: IceNine - Check out my twitch https://www.twitch.tv/iceninedota/

OmniEulogy Profile Joined July 2010 Canada 3015 Posts #10 On February 02 2020 07:12 Purolol wrote:

Show nested quote +

On February 02 2020 06:44 Yurie wrote:

Really like the idea. There is no high level dota (outside of China) on for weeks at a time right now.

That's because organizers don't organize anything, Dota has always been third-party reliant, just like Counter-Strike, it should not rely on Valve to organize something for there to be a scene.

That's because organizers don't organize anything, Dota has always been third-party reliant, just like Counter-Strike, it should not rely on Valve to organize something for there to be a scene.



I don't disagree with you. The problem has been getting top teams to care about things outside of the DPC without some crazy prize pool, and if you can't attract the big teams you generally don't see the viewers tune in. Not in large amounts anyway. It's a tricky problem to try to solve tbh. I don't disagree with you. The problem has been getting top teams to care about things outside of the DPC without some crazy prize pool, and if you can't attract the big teams you generally don't see the viewers tune in. Not in large amounts anyway. It's a tricky problem to try to solve tbh. Front Page Lead

Taf the Ghost Profile Joined December 2010 United States 7788 Posts #11 On February 02 2020 07:19 OmniEulogy wrote:

Show nested quote +

On February 02 2020 07:12 Purolol wrote:

On February 02 2020 06:44 Yurie wrote:

Really like the idea. There is no high level dota (outside of China) on for weeks at a time right now.

That's because organizers don't organize anything, Dota has always been third-party reliant, just like Counter-Strike, it should not rely on Valve to organize something for there to be a scene.

That's because organizers don't organize anything, Dota has always been third-party reliant, just like Counter-Strike, it should not rely on Valve to organize something for there to be a scene.



I don't disagree with you. The problem has been getting top teams to care about things outside of the DPC without some crazy prize pool, and if you can't attract the big teams you generally don't see the viewers tune in. Not in large amounts anyway. It's a tricky problem to try to solve tbh. I don't disagree with you. The problem has been getting top teams to care about things outside of the DPC without some crazy prize pool, and if you can't attract the big teams you generally don't see the viewers tune in. Not in large amounts anyway. It's a tricky problem to try to solve tbh.



Main problem is an International Tournament can be literally anywhere on the Globe. So you're looking at a 3 day block of travel on both sides, time for the tournament and then time to practice before and time to prepare for the next. Realistically a team can only do 1 LAN every 6 weeks and not burn out horribly. As which happened in the free for all year, to the point that even casters were so loopy the entire time I'm not sure anyone was making sense at some of the smaller tournaments.



This is mostly because the scene is so top heavy with the TI prize pool. You can normally win multiple majors on the year, but a top 6 TI finish will result in more prize money. It hurts the Pro Scene in a lot of ways, even if TI is what cemented it as an esport. Everything becomes about making TI.



If the Majors are set by a League and a qualifying tournament (I'd really like to see the Majors be 24 teams), you cut down on a lot of travel, give the scene a lot more room to monetize itself, which means it sticks around. With basically the exception of CS:GO, esports scenes operate as advertising for the game and companies should really fund it with that in mind. Regular league play, outside of the highly concentrated Chinese region, just isn't viable with the current system.



Now, it'd be nice if we got the return of regional, weekender LANs. That could be a lot of fun. Main problem is an International Tournament can be literally anywhere on the Globe. So you're looking at a 3 day block of travel on both sides, time for the tournament and then time to practice before and time to prepare for the next. Realistically a team can only do 1 LAN every 6 weeks and not burn out horribly. As which happened in the free for all year, to the point that even casters were so loopy the entire time I'm not sure anyone was making sense at some of the smaller tournaments.This is mostly because the scene is so top heavy with the TI prize pool. You can normally win multiple majors on the year, but a top 6 TI finish will result in more prize money. It hurts the Pro Scene in a lot of ways, even if TI is what cemented it as an esport. Everything becomes about making TI.If the Majors are set by a League and a qualifying tournament (I'd really like to see the Majors be 24 teams), you cut down on a lot of travel, give the scene a lot more room to monetize itself, which means it sticks around. With basically the exception of CS:GO, esports scenes operate as advertising for the game and companies should really fund it with that in mind. Regular league play, outside of the highly concentrated Chinese region, just isn't viable with the current system.Now, it'd be nice if we got the return of regional, weekender LANs. That could be a lot of fun.

saocyn Profile Joined July 2011 United States 515 Posts #12 On February 02 2020 04:20 Gamerhcp wrote:

Seems interesting at first. Better support for T2/T3 teams while removing the minors that nobody watched.



? I enjoyed the hell out of the Bukovel minor, probably more than most majors. it's production value was definitely better than some previous majors as well. ? I enjoyed the hell out of the Bukovel minor, probably more than most majors. it's production value was definitely better than some previous majors as well.

Ej_ Profile Joined January 2013 368 Posts #13 In the 2nd paragraph, please edit the "period of time" out "Technically the dictionary has zero authority on the meaning or words" - Rodya

calippo Profile Joined March 2011 Sweden 1658 Posts #14 On February 02 2020 05:04 NasusAndDraven wrote:

This was PPD suggestion 6 months ago



around the same time he had a team that was relevant around the same time he had a team that was relevant in it for the game not for the .... - PMS Army. [WUFC-SDK. VIM. PMS]

MintberryCrunchs Profile Joined February 2012 Germany 309 Posts #15 After 10 years, they suddenly care? Seems a little late ...



I am also not sure if you can just change up the whole thing in a manner like this. Especially if you are only willing to halve-commit to take care of the organisation of the whole structure ...



I am very skeptical.

LennX Profile Joined October 2010 3256 Posts #16 This looks like a good restart for Doto2. I hope these leagues will solve some of the grinding/burnout issues that the players have Mute user function on TL; http://www.liquiddota.com/blogs/491245-mute-annoying-users-in-lr-threads

rabidch Profile Joined January 2010 United States 9093 Posts #17 On February 02 2020 19:46 LennX wrote:

This looks like a good restart for Doto2. I hope these leagues will solve some of the grinding/burnout issues that the players have

leagues can increase that feeling, since there will be more games. just the viewers will have more things to watch since events seem to be a bimonthly thing now.





if anything is to be done for players, dota needs needs infrastructure around stress management and dota needs a defined offseason DPC period to let players rest. for the past two years valve squashes major qualifiers soon after TI. leagues can increase that feeling, since there will be more games. just the viewers will have more things to watch since events seem to be a bimonthly thing now.if anything is to be done for players, dota needs needs infrastructure around stress management and dota needs a defined offseason DPC period to let players rest. for the past two years valve squashes major qualifiers soon after TI. Staff Only a true king can play the King.

Yurie Profile Joined August 2010 7830 Posts Last Edited: 2020-02-02 14:42:35 #18 On February 02 2020 21:22 rabidch wrote:

Show nested quote +

On February 02 2020 19:46 LennX wrote:

This looks like a good restart for Doto2. I hope these leagues will solve some of the grinding/burnout issues that the players have

leagues can increase that feeling, since there will be more games. just the viewers will have more things to watch since events seem to be a bimonthly thing now.





if anything is to be done for players, dota needs needs infrastructure around stress management and dota needs a defined offseason DPC period to let players rest. for the past two years valve squashes major qualifiers soon after TI. leagues can increase that feeling, since there will be more games. just the viewers will have more things to watch since events seem to be a bimonthly thing now.if anything is to be done for players, dota needs needs infrastructure around stress management and dota needs a defined offseason DPC period to let players rest. for the past two years valve squashes major qualifiers soon after TI.



They could start the tier 2 league pretty soon after TI if they want content on. Then a few months after start up the tier 1 league. So the first season of tier 2 league ends with filling up missing spots in tier 1. They could start the tier 2 league pretty soon after TI if they want content on. Then a few months after start up the tier 1 league. So the first season of tier 2 league ends with filling up missing spots in tier 1.

Chewbacca. Profile Joined January 2011 United States 1523 Posts #19 Hmm, I wonder about the part where the bottom two teams from tier 1 and the top two teams from tier 2 are swapped. Will they have to do a match against each other first? Will the set-up pretty much guarantee that the top tier 2 are better than the bottom tier 1? Or will better teams be dropping below weaker teams just due to formatting? ♥ Jaedong, but to hell with the sheep. 5.6k Solo Queue Support

goody153 Profile Joined April 2013 33366 Posts #20 This sounds pretty interesting. Hope to see this go well this is a quote

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