ESL One Stockholm Dota 2 Major 2022 Will Not Have a Wildcard Round

The second Major of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22, ESL One Stockholm Dota 2 Major 2022, will take place with a changed format. ESL's website indicates that the Major will commence with 18 teams competing in the group stage, as opposed to the previous Majors, which started from the wild card stage. During the ESL One Stockholm Dota 2 Major 2022, 18 teams will be divided into two groups, after which some will qualify for the playoffs while others get eliminated. The event is scheduled for 12th-22nd May.

All ESL One Stockholm Dota 2 Major 2022 teams will be directly invited to the group stage

On ESL's website, it's stated that the Stockholm Major will begin on May 12th with the group stage. There will be two groups of nine teams each, and they will play one another in a Bo2 round robin manner.

The top four teams in each group will advance to the upper bracket, the fifth and sixth place teams will move to the lower bracket, and the remaining three teams will be eliminated from the competition.

This means that 12 teams will qualify for the ESL One Stockholm Dota 2 Major 2022 playoffs, eight of whom will start in the upper bracket and four in the lower bracket.

The group stage will take place from 12th to 17th May, followed by the playoffs from 18th to 22nd May 2022.

What was the format in the previous Majors?

In the two Majors in the previous season of the DPC, six teams qualified for the wild card, six qualified for the group stage, and six qualified for the playoffs, based on their respective league standings. From the six teams in the wild card, two qualified for the group stage, making it eight teams in the only group. Two of these eight teams advanced to the upper bracket of the playoffs, four advanced to the lower bracket, and the remaining two were eliminated.

As a result, six teams were directly invited to the playoffs, while the other six teams were brought in from the group stage. Twelve teams in the playoffs then fought their way for the Major title through the upper and lower brackets.

Following the conclusion of the DPC 2021, players and teams, in their analysis of the Majors’ format, had given mixed reviews to the system of wild cards, group stages, and playoffs, and the incentives attached to them. With this new format, however, all 18 teams will enter the Major on an equal footing, regardless of where they placed in their regional leagues.

Audiences can watch the playoffs in person from 20th-22nd May at the Hovet Arena. For more information about ticket sales and FAQs, visit https://www.esl-one.com/dpc/.