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The Dota 2 pro circuit was given an overhaul starting this year.
The old system allowed for numerous Majors, and thus a larger number of heavyweight international match-ups. The heyday of the old-school Dota 2 calendar was 2017 in this regard, with 9 total Majors taking place from 2017 to 2018. The Majors were officially fashioned after similar big-budget tournaments in Valve’s other flagship multiplayer game, Counter Strike: Global Offensive.
The vague and intransparent system of direct invites to the Majors, however, faced some criticism from the Dota 2 player base. To address this, the Majors were repurposed into a more organized DPC (Dota 2 pro circuit) in 2018, with Minors that take place in between. Unfortunately, the 2020 pandemic quashed most of the DPC action and only two Majors could be held. Fast forward to today, and Valve has yet again reworked the DPC system into a more tiered system.
On paper, the new regional leagues of Dota 2 sound neat and superior to Minors.
But for all its plus points, the new DPC system has its disadvantages.
5) Pro: The DPC is Easier to follow
As opposed to the arbitrary pre-2018 system, the current one has an easy-to-read structure. The scrapping of minors means less tier-1 Dota 2 activity across the board. But it also organizes the revamped regional leagues in a way that is easy to follow for both Dota 2 fans and pro teams.
4) Con: Overall fewer inter-regional matchups
The Majors haven’t quite run out of steam, but their relevance is greatly challenged under the new DPC framework. A team gets as many DPC points off topping regional league charts as it gets off winning a Major. Moreover, the two Majors at the end of each season restrict a lot of pro Dota 2 action to the regions.
To add to the problem, teams that perform well in the regional leagues get direct promotion to the playoffs. This gives the playoffs seeded Dota 2 rosters less time to warm up. More importantly, the previous Majors started everyone off in the group stage, allowing even greater scope for high-profile showdowns that all Dota 2 players love.
3) Pro: Greater room for new talent to shine
The current regional leagues are neatly divided into an upper division and lower division with eight teams each. The lower division leagues open up two new slots for new teams off the open qualifiers at the beginning of each DPC season. This is a great way to introduce promising teams that are trying to peek their head above the tier-3 Dota 2 trench, as well as keep things fresh.
2) Con: Schedule may get too hectic for Dota 2 rosters
For all its worth, the new DPC system overlooks one point of concern. Dota 2 players are not trained to weather physical exertion from long hours of gameplay. Because it compresses the two seasons into a six-month period, fixture timings tend to get too cramped.
Case in point: the lower bracket finals and the grand finals being on the same day. This issue manifested itself most perceptibly in the SEA Dota 2 qualifiers. TNC Predator, the runners-up, were compelled to play 8 games of competitive Dota 2 back-to-back. OG also had to face the same issue in the EU (West) qualifiers.
1) Pro: Greater development for regional Dota 2 scenes
For all the bells and whistles it strips off Majors, the new system does put greater emphasis on the regional leagues. An even spread of the prize pool allocates nearly as much money to regional leagues as the majors. The money, of course, implies greater sponsorship interest in Dota 2 rosters. This is a great way to foster new Dota 2 talent, especially in regions with underdeveloped competitive scenes.
