Cover-Credits:
Valve posted a blog detailing its plans to hold replacement tournaments in place of the first Major of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) that was recently canceled. "Regional Finals" online events will take place in all six regions in February 2022, with the top four teams of Division 1 vying for a share of the $100,000 USD prize pool and 380 DPC points. Additionally, to accommodate these changes more appropriately, Valve has introduced a LAN event which will be held after The International 11's (TI11) qualifiers in all six regions. The second and third place teams from these qualifiers will clash in this event for a chance to compete at TI11. As a result, TI11 will have 20 teams instead of its usual 18.
Valve announces Regional Finals as a replacement to the canceled first Major of the DPC 2021-22
Valve announced that it had decided to hold Regional Finals as the best available replacement for the canceled Major after discussions with players and tournament organizers.
When will the Regional Finals be held?
In February 2022, the Regional Finals will be held over two weekends, with three regions playing on the first weekend and three other regions on the second weekend. The schedule is as follows:
Feb 11-13, 2022: Western Europe (WEU), Southeast Asia (SEA), South America (SA)
Feb 18-20, 2022: China (CN), Eastern Europe (EEU), North America (NA)
Who will compete in the Regional Finals?
During the Regional Finals, the four top teams in Division 1 of the six regions will take part in a double elimination format. The top four teams in various regions are as follows:
What will be on the line in the Regional Finals?
This is how the prize pool and DPC points will be divided between the top four.
1st place: $50,000 USD + 250 DPC points
2nd place $25,000 USD + 130 DPC points
3rd place: $15,000 USD
4th place: $10,000 USD
As Valve admitted, when it had informed the community that the Major was canceled, it was a mistake not to present an alternative. “We quickly realized through listening to feedback from teams and fans that our priorities were wrong and we were not successful at being mindful of players participating in the DPC. This was a big mistake on our part. We are sorry and we are set on making it right,” the company wrote on its blog.
The community had proposed and demanded several alternatives for the Major after it was canceled while also expressing their frustration for the lack of communication on the matter. Valve mentioned that the options it then evaluated were hosting a replacement LAN event, postponing the Major to a later date, holding a global online tournament, or holding bi-regional tournaments. But, all options seemed difficult to execute. Ultimately, the decision was made to hold the "Regional Finals.”
TI11 will have a total of 20 teams
In accordance with the usual format, the six regions receive different numbers of slots for qualifying for the Major, so teams from regions such as WEU and China, which receive more slots for the Major, and have a higher chance of earning DPC points. However, because of the current changes, Tour 1 of the DPC 2021-22 will award the same amount of DPC points to all regions.
As a way to "offset the bias," Valve has announced a LAN event later this year that will give teams an extra opportunity to compete at TI11.
“The TI Qualifiers will be played as originally planned, with the top team from each region qualifying to TI
Second and third place from each region's qualifiers will then compete in a LAN event shortly afterward, prior to The International
Out of those 12 teams, first and second place will qualify to The International 11.”
As a result of this change, TI11 will have a total of 20 teams divided into two groups of 10 teams each. Two teams will be eliminated in each of the groups, bringing the total number of eliminated teams to four. Due to this, the usual 16 teams will be competing at the Main Event.
“These changes, which will be unique to the 2021-2022 season, will help to balance out the qualification in light of the potential DPC point discrepancy created by the absence of the first Major,” said Valve indicating that this additional LAN event is unlikely to happen again in future DPCs.
At the end of Valve’s blog, it revealed that the much-awaited 7.31 patch will be released following the completion of the Regional Finals.
It seems like Valve came through for its player base and finally decided to provide a suitable replacement for the canceled Major. Players have a lot to look forward to with the upcoming Regional Finals, shortly after which a new patch shall come to the game. Players have been longing for a major update to the game and hopefully, the new patch brings in some exciting new elements.
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