Dota 2 BlogThe 2021 Dota Pro Circuit

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As we start a new year amidst positive news regarding the vaccine for COVID-19, we wanted to share with you our plans for the Dota Pro Circuit season 2021. 

This year’s competition is slated to start on January 18th, and will consist of 2 seasons, leading up to The International 10. As previously announced, each season, will consist of a six week League portion leading up to a Major. After two seasons, there will be qualifiers for the remaining slots for The International 10 happening in Stockholm in August. The calendar for the two seasons is as follows:

Season 1: January 18th – February 28th. (March 14th for China with a break in the middle)
Major 1: March 25th – April 4th

Season 2: April 13th  – May 23rd
Major 2: June 2nd – June 13th

Given that several teams experienced a lot of roster changes throughout the year and performance has varied among teams from the previous DPC season, we will not be using previous season’s DPC points as a way to seed teams into the leagues but rather selecting the top 4 teams in best form from each region to be directly qualified to the Upper division, while a series of qualifiers, closed and open, will determine the remaining 12 teams in both divisions.

At the end of the league, the top teams from each region’s upper division will qualify to the Major. For the first major, the distribution of the 18 slots will be as follows:

EU: Top 4
China: Top 4
SEA: Top 3
CIS: Top 3
NA: Top 2
SA: Top 2

The bottom two teams of the Upper Division in each Region will be relegated to the Lower Division, while the top two teams of the Lower Division will be promoted. The bottom two teams of the lower division will be eliminated from the league and open qualifiers will decide which are the two teams that will occupy those slots on the next season.

Due to feedback from fans and players, the schedule has been revisited to make sure all match times fit the regions play and watch times as best as possible. The new schedule is as follows (All times Pacific Time):

Schedule:

Upper Division

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
12AM		China	SEA		China	SEA	China
3AM		China	SEA	SEA		SEA	China
6AM					CIS		CIS
9AM		Europe	Europe	CIS	CIS	Europe	CIS
12PM		Europe	SA	NA	SA	Europe	NA
3PM		NA	SA	NA	SA	SA	NA
6PM

Lower Division

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
12PM	China			SEA
3AM	SEA			CIS	CIS		CIS
6AM	CIS	Europe	Europe	CIS		Europe
9AM	Europe			SA	SA	SA
12PM	SA	NA	Europe	SA		NA
3PM	NA		NA			NA
6PM
9PM	China	SEA	SEA	China	SEA	China	China

The six regional leagues will be operated by the following tournament organizers, who will in the following days share more information on qualifiers, broadcasting, show and talent information:

Europe: Dreamhack
CIS: ESL
China: Perfect World
SEA: PGL
NA: BTS
SA: Dotapit

In an upcoming update, by the end of January, the DPC circuit will become integrated with the client, featureing Standings, Schedule and Tournament Information, as well as making it easy for people to follow their favorite teams and support them through purchasing seasonal Fan Support bundles.

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