Dota 2: 2020-2021 DPC Adds Regional Leagues

We just got some very important information about the next DPC.

Even though Dota 2 is one of the biggest esports in the world, Valve has been criticized a lot for their actions toward the tier 2 and tier 3 Dota 2 scene. In fact, they hadn't done much of anything in this regard. However, it seems like Gabe and co. have finally decided to do something about it.

Although there is still time left for the new DPC, Valve already released information stating that they will introduce a new system called Regional Leagues. This means that after TI 10, there won’t be any Minors anymore.

What is the next DPC going to be like?

Introducing Regional Leagues.https://t.co/BJgYpOc735 pic.twitter.com/t4O9QY5vwX

— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) February 26, 2020

The next DPC will be divided into three seasons. Each of them will have a total of six leagues which will finish with a Major that will gather the best teams. The total prize pool of each league for one season will be $280K USD.

It’s important to note that each Regional League will have two divisions – Upper and Lower. Both of them will have eight teams that will be fighting for their share of the prize pool we’ve mentioned above. However, only the top five teams in the Upper league will be eligible to win DPC points, apart from the top eight at the Major.

Similar to this year, the top twelve teams at the end of the DPC will be going to The International 2021. The other slots that are free will be given to the teams that win the six regional qualifiers.

These are the dates for the new DPC:

• S1 Fall League – 5th October – 15th November
• S1 Major – 7th December – 19th December
• S2 Winter League – 4th Jan – 14th February
• S2 Major – 8th March – 20th March
• S3 Spring League – 12th April – 2rd May
• S3 Major – 21st June – 3rd July

Regional Leagues — all about them

As we’ve mentioned above, the idea behind these regional qualifiers is to boost the tier two and tier three scenes. There will be a total of 96 teams in total playing in all six leagues. When the season comes to an end, the teams that finish in the last two places in the Upper Divison will be sent to the Lower one. On the contrary, the top two teams from the Lower Division will go the Upper one. Those two bottom teams from the Lower Division will be eliminated. Despite that, they will still get a chance to play if they win open qualifiers for the next Regional League.

The leagues themselves will be held in the span of six weeks. Also, every region will have a Bo3 Round Robin format.

One of the biggest issues with today’s’ Dota2 is that some teams play in regions where they shouldn’t do it. Valve finally decided to address this issue, so for the next DPC, a team will be able to play in a specific region only if it has at least three players from it.3

Another very important change is related to rosters locking. Now, each roster will be locked for the entire season, until the Major ends. Once that happens, players will have time to do changes until the next season begins. However, whenever a team changes a player, they will lose 15% of the DPC points that they’ve acquired so far.

As for stand-ins, teams will be able to use them for 4 games maximum. Nevertheless, the stand-in must not be a part of any team that’s playing in the Upper Division.

What about the Majors?

As we’ve mentioned earlier, every season will end with a Major that will gather 18 teams. However, instead of having a $1M prize pool like now, the event will have a $500K one that’s going to be split between the teams that finish in the first eight spots.

This is the slot distribution for each region:

• China and Europe – 4 slots
• NA and SEA – 3 slots
• CIS and SA – 2 slots

Another interesting change is related to the so-called “Wild Card” teams. This is something that we’ve seen in TI 4 and TI 5 but now, Valve have decided to implement here. As a result, every single Major will see six teams that will be fighting for two spots in the Major. Those who win will advance to the groups, whereas the rest will be eliminated.

In terms of the Group stage, there will be eight teams that will play in a Round Robin format. Those who manage to secure the top two spots will go the Upper Bracket of the playoffs. On the other hand, the bottom two will be eliminated. Everyone else will advance to the Lower Bracket.

Be sure to read the full Valve announcement here. By the looks of it, the next Dota 2 Pro Circuit will be extremely interesting to watch. Who knows, we might just see some tier 2 teams rise to the highest levels of Dota 2.