The Dota Pro Circuit is all set to start with the Major qualifiers on September 16th. Valve has announced further details about the 2018-19 season including the distribution of points, the team ownership details and The International 2019 invites.

What is the Dota Pro Circuit?

The Dota Pro Circuit is an esports circuit curated by Valve. Since Dota 2 esports is centred around The international, other tournaments often lose stature in the calendar year. Valve’s decision to double down on the International essentially means that all third-party tournaments will be feeder tournaments to the main event [ The International ].

The Dota Pro Circuit was first announced for the 2017-18 season. It was the first experimental year for Valve. Rightfully so, there were several flaws in the 2017-18 DPC system. The most common ones were the absence of a differentiator between the Minors and the Majors. The fact that only the top three teams received any DPC points seemed to be a sore point of contention for most of the players.

Valve announces changes to the DPC Season 2018-19

Just before the start of the season Valve has announced changes to the rules concerning DPC. This year the Majors and Minors will be held in Pairs. There will be only 5 majors and 5 minors in total spread throughout the calendar year. The first Major for this season is already public knowledge. The Kuala Lumpur Major will have a prize pool of $1 million with 16 teams in attendance.

Minors are a feeder to the Major

The winner of a Dota 2 minor will receive a direct invite to the upcoming [paired] Major. Major has a drastic increase in the prize pool as well as the DPC points up for grabs. Therefore this gives an opportunity to the winners of the Dota 2 minor to earn DPC points and/or more money.

It also allows for a differentiating factor between the minors and the Major. While a Major is all about collecting DPC points and prize money, a minor will now be a feeder system to the Major. The qualifiers for the Major will happen first followed by the Minor qualifiers. Any team that qualifies for the Major cannot compete in the minor.

This allows amateur teams to potentially compete at the Major via the minors. It is an excellent structure to improve the grassroots of the Dota 2 scene.

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All the teams attending a Minor / Major receive DPC points

This is one of the biggest changes for DPC Season 2018-19. Previously, only the top three teams would be eligible to earn DPC points. This skewed the rankings towards a few teams such as Virtus Pro, Team Secret, Liquid and LGD. The rankings never truly displayed the achievements of the teams placing 5-8th. This was a disappointment to many players and organisations.

With the new system, all achievements of a team will affect their DPC rankings. However, the distribution of points does have a Top Down approach. So the winners and the teams placing near the top will receive the bulk of the prize money as well as DPC points. It differentiates their dominance over their opponents and enables them to qualify for The International 2019 faster.

Here is the distribution of points for the Dota 2 Majors and Minors.

Majors

Minors

The road to The International

The top twelve teams at the end of the DPC season receive a direct invite to The International 2019. TI9 will take place in Shanghai, Asia for the first time ever. The International usually has a total of 16 teams. The remaining four teams will have to qualify via the [four] regional qualifiers.

Frequently Asked Questions

1: Do teams earn points or do players?

A: Points are now earned by teams.

2: If a player changes teams do those players’ points go with them?

A: No.

3: How many teams receive direct invites to TI9 from points?

A: The top twelve teams with the highest point totals receive direct invites to The International 2019. The other invited teams will be determined by Regional Qualifiers (1 per region).

4: Do points determine invites to the Regional Qualifiers?

A: Not directly, though they may be considered as a factor when deciding invites to Regional Qualifiers.

5: How many regional qualifier teams qualify for Majors and Minors?

A: Each region gets a minimum of 2 qualified teams for Majors, and a minimum of 1 qualified team for Minors.

6: How are the remaining three Major qualifier slots determined?

A: The regions for the additional qualifier slots are assigned by Valve, per Major.

7: Are there other ways to qualify for a Major?

A: Yes, in addition to qualifying via Regional Qualifiers, the winner of the preceding Minor is automatically qualified to the Major. This team will earn either the DPC points for their Minor victory or their placement in the Major, whichever is greater.

8: Can teams qualify for both the Minor and the Major?

A: No, only teams that have not qualified for the Major can compete in the Minor qualifiers.

9: Can a team play with subs?

A: Yes. During qualifiers, a team must play with at least 4 of its 5 registered players (this will cause no penalty). Any team that plays the LAN portion of a tournament with a sub will incur a 40% penalty on points earned from that tournament.

10: Where can I sign up?

A: You can register as the manager of a team or as a player on the Registration Page.

Source: Dota 2 Blog