MDL Event Structure

The structure of MDL events depends on their type. These days, the organizer only puts together three types of tournaments.

Minors

These are events that can take place either as part of the Dota Pro Circuit or on their own. They usually involve eight teams and have two stages. In the Group Stage, the teams play against each other in a Round Robin format. What happens next depends on what the organizer wants to do. Sometimes they only allow the top four teams to participate in the Playoffs. Other times they allow everyone to advance but place the top four teams in the Upper Bracket.

Minors generally offer $300,000 in prizes. It may not be much for Dota, but it’s still a significant amount for esports in general.

Majors

MDL Majors are part of the Dota Pro Circuit and have a structure similar to that of The International, except they feature 16 teams instead of 18, have four groups instead of two and the prize pool is just $1 million.

The Group Stage of an MDL Major follows the same format that all DPC Majors use: four groups of four teams each. In every group, the top two teams advance to the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs. The bottom two teams advance to the Lower Bracket.

The Playoffs Stage uses a double-elimination bracket (GSL). Matches are mostly Bo3, apart from the first round of Lower Bracket confrontations (Bo1) and the Grand Final (Bo5).