No direct invites and 50% less DPC events next season says Valve

posted by Malystryx.GDS,

Valve dropped massive news earlier this evening about their plans for "big changes" to the next Dota Pro Circuit season, plans which will see the abolition of direct invites and only 10 DPC events. There is a lot to process about how the Dota Pro Circuit will look next season, but one thing is for sure, Valve have definitely overhauled the system in more ways than one.

Less Majors, less Minors

In their official blogpost this evening, Valve have shared the "full schedule" for the 2018-2019 season. In the next DPC season Minors and Majors will be paired together. Major Regionals will be held first, and teams who do not make it through may then join the Minor qualifiers a few days afterwards. The Minor's main event will precede the Major's, with the winner of each Minor automatically invited to join the Major it is paired with.

This season on the DPC there were 9 Majors and 13 Minors, whereas next season there will only be 5 Majors and 5 Minors. As a result the schedule is far less packed than it was this season, with a 7 week break between each Major/Minor pairings for the 2018-2019 season. Could we see non-DPC events happen next season?

For example dates were already announced for ESL One Hamburg 2018, and they do not fall in Valve's schedule dates for the first Minor or Major. Will ESL try to adjust the dates in order to ensure the top teams join their event despite tickets already going on sale, or could non-DPC events be viable given the lack of LANs next season? If ESL did go for DPC status then they will have to abide by new rules regarding direct invites.

There will be no direct invites to either Minors or Majors.

One of the biggest bombshells in Valve's new DPC format for next season, is the fact that there will be no direct invites allowed for Majors or Minors. This season based off their run at TI, Liquid and Newbee both accepted direct invites to the first four DPC events, next season however, even the TI winners will have to go through Regional Qualifiers for every DPC event they hope to attend. Furthermore, ALL teams who attend DPC events will earn DPC Points, not only top 4, as was the case this season.

"All Minors must feature at least eight teams, with a minimum of one qualifier per region. Majors must have at least sixteen teams, with at least two qualifiers per region. All teams that play in a Minor or Major will earn DPC points. Teams participating in the Minors will be required to work on the Visa application in advance of the tournament, in order to be able to make the Major if they win." - Valve

The biggest potential losers in the new DPC model are the talent, especially the up & comers

With all the crazy DPC schedule overlaps, there were lots of opportunities to make your mark

Now, DPC events have more leverage, & T1 talent can comfortably work the whole calendar
— David Gorman (@LDeeep) 4 June 2018

My biggest hope for next season is that TOs now put in effort to incorporate the broadcasting of the qualifiers into the bigger show rather than abandoning them to remote casters because they weren't profitable. Now it's a full package, not some necessary evil for you to delegate
— Cap (@DotACapitalist) 4 June 2018

This is Valve's full schedule for the 2018-2019 season:

Sep 17-Sep 21: Major Qualifier
Sep 23-Sep 26: Minor Qualifiers
Oct 29-Nov 4: Minor Main Event
Nov 8-Nov 19: Major Main Event

Nov 26-Nov 30: Major Qualifiers
Dec 1-Dec 4: Minor Qualifiers
Jan 7-Jan 13: Minor Main Event
Jan 17-Jan 27: Major Main Event

Feb 1-Feb 5: Major Qualifier
Feb 7-Feb 10: Minor Qualifier
Mar 4-Mar 10: Minor Main Event
Mar 14-Mar 24: Major Main Event

Mar 28-Apr 1: Major Qualifier
Apr 3-Apr 6: Minor Qualifiers
Apr 22-Apr 28: Minor Main Event
May 2-May 12: Major Main Event

May 15-May 19: Major Qualifier
May 21-May 24: Minor Qualifiers
June 10-June 16: Minor Main Event
June 20-June 30: Major Main Event

Less Majors, less Minors

There will be no direct invites to either Minors or Majors.

How do you feel about the new system?

Malystryx.GDS

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