In a surprising turn of event, Valve has decided to shut down the Dota 2 Pro Circuit after more than six years of existence. According to a statement on their official website, DPC 2023 will be their final professional tournament, and it will be replaced by a new format the following year.
The company admitted that they have noticed a decline in the quality of Dota 2 competition due to regulations and tournament schemes that seem to hinder innovation and creativity. Therefore, they are abandoning this format in order to relieve pressure on organisers who may come up with interesting concepts for Dota 2 tournaments in the future.
“By existing as the only official league, the DPC has a stranglehold on the event calendar for the year and what it’s filled with. Event organizers are innovating less, because that’s effectively what we’ve been asking them to do: Instead of competing for viewers and players by producing compelling and inventive tournaments, organisers now compete for compliance with Valve’s long list of rigid requirements.” Valve wrote. “With that in mind, we’re ending the Dota Pro Circuit: 2023 will be the final DPC season.”
However, they are not entirely giving up on the Dota 2 professional competition scheme as they promised that there will be The International in 2024, with a yet-to-be-announced new invitation scheme that is no longer relying on DPC points.
Greater opportunities for the grassroots
Given what occurred in 2023, this appears to be a sensible option for them. While the loss of financial backing from Valve for prize pools across the world will likely not be replaced and will affect some regions significantly, viewers may be spoiled with better options in 2024. Furthermore, two of the three majors this year have been underwhelming, while the regional leagues have at times been outright bad in terms of broadcast quality.
With this significant change, tournament organizers will be competing against one another, driving them to innovate and be entertaining in order to attract more spectators. And, in comparison to the DPC schedule, this should result in even more intriguing events.
For example, the loudest Dota 2 competition this year was initiated by organiser Gamer8, who held the Dota 2 Riyadh Masters 2023 in Saudi Arabia last July. Their partnership with ESL resulted in the most viewed Dota 2 competition by the community in 2023, topping the viewership of all Majors in 2023. The majority of fans believed that the third-party organisers had created a greater tournament framework and social media management than the Valve-appointed organizer.
On the other hand, differences in vision between Valve and their chosen organisers often caused problems during the tournament due to technical matters. Viewers are no strangers to conflicts and dramas surrounding DPC, particularly between competing teams and tournament organisers’ crew questioning the rules or incorrect recording of DPC points.Leaving absolute decisions to TO would certainly be a better choice to avoid such disturbances.
Aside from that, the lack of DPC may encourage Valve to introduce the Regional Major model in competitive CS:GO, their other popular titles, which has been in effect since 2020. This has resulted in a significant increase in CS:GO popularity thanks to the opportunities for teams from independent tournaments to qualify for the Major.
