Poor 2020, it will forever be remembered as a dreadful year for many, and the Dota 2 community is certainly among those who felt the impact of Covid-19 heavily, especially when it comes to eSports and DPC (Dota Pro Circuit).

But, many would argue that Covid isn’t the only one to take all the blame here, since Valve, the game’s developer, have once more, received many accusations on their account. One of the main problems that many relevant fingers have pointed to was the handling of the eSports season. The International, being one of the largest and most substantial tournaments across the whole eSports industry, was cancelled, but, according to news outlets, that could’ve been avoided.

Leave Frustration Behind, These Are the 2021 Changes For DPC and Dota 2

For instance, LOL’s main event of the season, Worlds, was held in Shanghai, and apparently, Valve was offered a similar deal to organize their tournament. But that arrangement didn’t go through for some reason, which left many pros angry (and missing from the highest-paid lists). On the other hand, there were some, like Team Secret, who wasted no time but started playing many online tournaments and making money along the way.

Some would argue though, that the lack of TI did some good for the whole Dota 2 scene, since fans were finally able to watch many games online, once the whole Dota Pro Circuit was practically dismantled and many major tournaments cancelled. With the cancellation of big events, other opportunities opened up, pointing once again at Valve’s poor organization and management of the scene, where all the money is concentrated in one place: TI and Majors.

But, it’s time to turn over a new leaf, and that means we have a whole new and refreshed DPC season in front of us. A few days ago Valve confirmed that Dota 2 pro season is going to be different this year: it kicks off on January 18^th and it will premiere a new concept of Regional Leagues. Instead of previous Minors, teams will now compete in six different regional leagues, which will determine Major qualifiers. Each league has two seasons and two divisions with 16 teams competing, and there will be one Major after each league season, which means that the number of Majors is reduced to only two. Rosters will be locked while the season is running, and overall 18 teams will compete in each Major (two teams from NA and SA, three from SEA and CIS and four from Europe and China). Best 12 teams from DPC rankings qualify for TI, so that part stayed the same, but the remaining slots will be filled through regional qualifiers. (If you are interested in this in more detail, you can find it here.)

Reasons To Look Forward To The New Season

As far as the dates go, season 1 will start January 18^th and last until February 28^th (with the exception of China who will end March 14^th because of the break they’ll have in the middle). First Major is scheduled for March 25^th. Second season will began April 13^th and end May 23^rd with second Major being scheduled for June 2^nd. It is still not clear which teams will participate, but the invitations are rolling out as we speak (well – write or read).

On the TI front, on the other hand, although there were speculations that it will be held in September, latest news hints that it could be a bit sooner, in August. Also, it will be held in Stockholm, that was supposed to be the host of the cancelled TI in 2020.

And now, let’s forget about the troubled past and rejoice about the very near future. We’ll be keeping a close track on everything that happened in DPC, so don’t forget that you can also play for free while you are keeping close track with us on our Pick 6.