Valve’s choice to end the Dota 2 Pro Circuit has been met with a surprising amount of enthusiasm from people who have been watching the game for over six years. The majority of fans and professionals in the Dota 2 competition scene, who had been grumbling about the DPC’s many problems, are now celebrating its historic end.
Yesterday, Valve revealed that DPC 2023 will be its final pro circuit series, and the next competitive season will include a new format. They believed that their plans and regulations have hindered the creativity of tournament organisers, and hoped that the community scene could grow bigger with more freedom in the future. And professionals quickly applauded the announcement and showed their excitement on social media.
Professional players like Johan “n0tail” Sundstein, Danil “Dendi” Ishutin, and Andreas “Cr1t” Nielsen have expressed their happiness about the closure of DPC on X. The coach of team OG, Mikhail “Misha” Agatov, said that he can’t wait to see more interesting events in the next year.
Additionally, some well-known people in the Dota 2 competition have said that they are also hopeful about this big change. Team Alliance CEO Jonathan “Loda” Berg and GG Esports editor-in-chief Lawrence “Malystryx” Phillips think that Valve made the right choice by letting third-party managers work on the professional Dota 2 scene. The latter thought that the community deserves more big events from ESL, especially when compared to Valve’s two Majors in Lima and Bali, which he saw as mediocre at best.
Despite these benefits, other professionals raised reservations about Valve’s move, believing that third-party organisers could not entirely replace the already robust DPC system. Shopify Rebellion captain Tal “Fly” Aizik said he’s a bit unsure about the future of the competition, even though he remains optimistic about the change.
On the other hand, analyst Ben “Noxville” Steenhuisen felt that DPC was a good concept but poor in execution. He thought that the monotony in some DPC regions was actually due to Valve’s lack of regulations with the chosen tournament organisers and the lack of incentives for those who managed to organise it successfully.
Furthermore, Austin “Cap” Walsh believed that tiny third-party organizers would struggle to compete with big names such as ESL and PGL without financial support from publishers. However, he stated that in the absence of DPC beyond this year, he would love to see more events like Summits and Animajors. He also hopes that future competitions will be available to all Tier 3 teams, which haven’t been given as much attention in the past.
Aside from these issues, the community noted that there are still severe issues that must be addressed by any third-party organiser that wants to run a Dota 2 competition in the coming season. Without Valve’s support, they would have to work harder to deal with classic problems like match rigging and account sharing. In addition, they must be efficient in managing cash flow to make sure the competition is profitable for both them and the participating teams.
