Valve Announces Dota Pro Circuit 2021/22 Winter Tour Regional Finals and Expanded Roster for The International 11
Valve has officially announced the Dota Pro Circuit 2021/22 Winter Tour Regional Finals, along with the expanded roster for The International 11.
This news comes just one day after reports circulated within the Dota 2 community. Valve’s response to the cancellation of the Winter Tour Major and the subsequent backlash led to these changes.
“We quickly realized, though listening to feedback from teams and fans, that our priorities were wrong and we were not successful at being mindful of players participating in the DPC,” said Valve. “This was a big mistake on our part. We are sorry and we are set on making it right.”
Instead of delaying the Winter Tour Major, Valve decided to focus on rewarding teams who performed well in their individual regions. As a result, six iterations of the Winter Tour Regional Finals will take place throughout February.
This was planned in collaboration with various teams and tournament organizers. While all parties understood that there was no perfect solution, this middle ground will at least provide a conclusive end to the first stage of the current DPC season.
Winter Tour Regional Finals Schedule and Prizing
The Winter Tour Regional Finals will be split over two weekends in February, with each weekend hosting three regions. All six regions will feature the top four teams from their respective Winter Tour regional leagues. The prize pool for each region will be $100,000 and 380 DPC points.
- Feb. 11 to 14: Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America
- Feb. 18 to 20: China, Eastern Europe, and North America
Prizing:
- 1st place: $50,000 USD + 250 DPC points
- 2nd place: $25,000 USD + 130 DPC points
- 3rd place: $15,000 USD
- 4th place: $10,000 USD
Valve is also reworking the TI11 Qualifiers to include a new LAN tournament. The top team from each region’s TI Qualifiers will directly qualify for the event. The second and third-place teams from those rankings will compete at the new LAN event, with the top two teams earning a ticket to TI.
This means that the base roster of teams at TI11 is now 20, with the group stage split into two groups of 10 teams. Four rosters will be eliminated from the group stage, while the main event remains unchanged.
Valve notes that this change is “unique” to the 2021/22 DPC to balance out any DPC point discrepancy caused by the absence of the first Major, but it could potentially lead to a permanent expansion of TI depending on the reception to the changes.
To conclude the update, Valve confirmed that more news about the second and third Majors will be announced in the coming weeks, and Patch 7.31 will be released shortly after the Regional Finals conclude.
Valve, Dota Pro Circuit, Winter Tour Regional Finals, The International 11, DPC, tournament, LAN event, prizing, team placement, update, Majors, Patch 7.31