Insight into the First Dota Pro Circuit 2021/2022 Tournament in Eastern Europe

2021 is coming to an end, but DOTA is closing it with a bang. The DOTA Pro Circuit is just about to begin. Officially kicking off on November 29, the Division II Open Qualifiers has already taken place.

Those who have not registered and qualified by now can only watch as the ship has sailed. The qualification rounds are over, but players can still hope for joining teams that have already qualified.

DOTA Doing Three Tours

One big change in this season is the addition of one tour in the DOTA Pro Circuit. The common practice was to have two Major Seasons. In 2021, there will be three interregional competitions. 

In these Majors, teams will get more DPC (DOTA Pro Circuit) points, not in the regional leagues. Total points for the regional leagues are 690/920/1150. In the Majors, the split is 1900/2700/3500. Teams that failed to earn international success can now qualify through the league play.

Locking of Rosters

Rosters are now final, as the deadline happened as of November 21. It is the first roster lock, and it will be this way until the regional leagues are over. Changes in the lineups can only happen once the regional leagues in all tours are complete. 

Those seeking to remove players in their teams can only do so on the Tuesday of the Major. Adding a team member can be done until Sunday after the Major.

Player changes come at a price. Teams will lose 15% of the DPC points they earned if they remove players from their roster. Those who swap players will lose 20% of the points they earned. 

Game enthusiasts who play on sites like GGBet casino online must pay attention to these roster changes:  they impact the results and odds. 

Ownership of DPC

There is some confusion on the rules of DPC ownership, which Valve clarified recently. According to Valve, the DPC owner is the admin. The admin is the person who created the roster. It can be a player who created the team or a manager. It can also be an executive or a third-party holder. 

According to Valve, they will not impose restrictions on the transfer of ownership of DPC points. As a result, managers and big-league organizations can still accumulate DPC points if they acquire teams.

Game Format

The three formats for the DOTA Pro Circuit 2021 are Regional League, Majors and Tournaments. Six regions are participating in the Regional League, and they have two divisions. These are Division I and Division II. 

Each division has eight teams, and each league will last six weeks. The bottom two teams for Division I at the end of the league will move to Division II. On the other hand, the top two teams in Division II will move to Division I.

The bottom two teams of Division II will no longer play. For replacements, the organizer will take the winners from the open qualifiers in the Regional League.

The organizers for the six Regional Leagues are as follows: 

• DreamHack
• Epic Esports Events for Eastern Europe
• Perfect World
• Beyond the Summit
• ESL
• 4D Esports

The prize pool for each Regional League is $280,000 for each Tour. The prize is not for the winning team, but divided among Division I and Division II. The split is not equal, as Division I would get $205,000 while Division II gets $75,000. 

Here is the spread of the prize pool:

• First Place – $30,000 with 300/400/500 DPC; will qualify to Major Playoffs.
• Second Place – $28,000 with 180/240/300 DPC; will qualify to Major Group Stage.
• Third Place – 27,000 with 120/160/200 DPC; will qualify to Major Wild Card Stage.
• Fourth Place – $30,000 with 60/80/100 DPC; will qualify to Major Wild Card Stage.
• Fifth Place – $26,000 with 30/40/50 DPC; will stay in Regional Division I.
• Sixth Place – $25,000 with 0 DPC; will stay in Regional Division I.
• Seventh Place – $24,000 with 0 DPC; will stay in Regional Division II.
• Eighth Place – $23,000 with 0 DPC; will stay in Regional Division II.

In the Majors, four teams will come from China and Western Europe. Three will come from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, and two will come from North America and South America. Majors have a total prize pool of half a million dollars.

Here is the distribution of the prize pool for the Majors:

• First Place – wins $200,000 with 400/500/600 DPC.
• Second Place – wins $100,000 with 350/450/550 DPC.
• Third Place – wins $75,000 with 300/400/500 DPC.
• Fourth Place – wins $50,000 with 250/350/450 DPC.
• Fifth and Sixth Place – win $25,000 with 200/300/400 DPC.
• Seventh and Eighth Place – wins $12,000 with 100/200/300 DPC.
• Ninth to Sixteenth Place – no prize and no DPC.

The Wild Card will have six teams, and the top two will advance to the Group Stage. The bottom four will no longer play. There will be eight teams in the Group Stage, and the top two will advance in the Playoffs. Those who ranked third to sixth will still be in the Playoffs but in the lower bracket. The bottom two will no longer play.

In the Playoffs, there is a total of 12 teams. Eight teams will fight in the Upper Bracket and four in the Lower Bracket. 

Leon Motley

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