The Dota Pro Circuit begins on 18 January 2021

It’s been a tough year for Dota 2 esports fans and teams. Due to the ongoing, global COVID-19 pandemic, several Dota Pro Circuit events had to get cancelled, and even The International 10 got delayed. Now, we look towards next year, as the DPC will begin again on 18 January 2021.

Dota Pro Circuit in 2021

The Dota Pro Circuit will look a bit different in 2021. There will still be majors and The International 10, but we will also see Regional Leagues introduced, as explained by Valve in a recent Dota 2 blog post.

Valve talks about the Dota Pro Circuit:

“We are excited to announce that the 2021 DPC will start on January 18th. 16 teams within two divisions will compete in each of the six Regional Leagues. The best from each region will also qualify to the first Major of the season. More information on schedule and details will be available soon.”

Each of the regional leagues will have three competition days. There will be a total of six leagues which feature a $280,000 prize pool per season. The Regional Leagues will feature two divisions, with eight teams competing in the Upper Division, and another eight competing in the Lower Division. In total, 96 teams from across the globe will compete in these DPC regional leagues.

The Regional League seasons will last for six weeks each.  At the end of each season, two teams per division will be relegated to the other division. Two bottom teams of the Upper Division will swap places with the top two of the Lower Division. The bottom two teams of the Lower Division will be eliminated from the league and replaced with two new teams coming from Open Qualifiers.

It will be exciting to see the Dota Pro Circuit with its Regional Leagues begin on 18 January 2021, and we will be sure to cover all the action.

Header image via Valve.