Dota 2 Pro Circuit is getting regional leagues after The International 2020

While the Dota Pro Circuit has predominantly revolved around The International, Valve is attempting to make changes for the development of lower ranked teams.  

Announced in a blog post, the conclusion of this year’s The International 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden will kickstart a new Dota Pro Circuit system comprised of six regional leagues across Europe, North America, China, South America, South East Asia, and the CIS.  

Each league will be split between two divisions, upper and lower, with eight teams in each respectively – with 96 teams competing in total around the world.  

Each season across the six leagues culminates in a Major for the best teams pulled from each region – with the top 12 teams who have the most DPC points at the end of the third season qualifying for The International 2021.  

The International is one of the biggest events in esports (Picture: Dota 2 International) 

After each season, the two bottom teams from the upper divisions will swap with the top two from the lower. The bottom two teams from the lower division, meanwhile, will be eliminated and replaced with two new teams from Open Qualifiers to introduce new talent.  

These six regional leagues will have a $280,000 prize pool per season, with Majors having a $500,000 prize pool and Dota Pro Circuit points on offer.  

For the opening season, Valve will allocate which teams enter each division. To further incentivize united teams, rosters will also be fixed mid-season with any changes after this point incurring a 15% point penalty.  

You can check out the dates for each season below:

• S1 Fall League: 5th October – 15th November 

• S1 Major: 7-19th December 

• S2 Winter League: 4th January – 14th February 

• S2 Major: 8-20th March 

• S3 Spring League: 12th April – 23rd May 

• S3 Major: 21st June – 3rd July 

The changes will start following The International 2020, taking place 18-23 August in Stockholm, Sweden.