In a recent blog post, Valve has announced that the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) has already seen its final season. With The International 2023 just weeks away, the next season of pro Dota has been thrown into disarray. But is it necessarily a bad thing?
It’s certainly been a year of change for Dota. Everything from the game itself to the pro leagues to the flagship tournament has been changed in the last year with little to no notice. Most of the changes have been met with positive reactions from fans and professionals alike. Far from being the first step on the road to shutting down Dota, all of these changes seem set to bring new life to the game.
The Dota Pro Circuit Needed a Huge Overhaul
The changes to Dota 2 tournaments were announced on Valve’s official blog. It confirmed what fans already knew: that the DPC was designed to ensure a clearer path to The International for pro teams. At first, the more regimented structure worked well but since 2017, when it was first instated, the league has evolved into something more.
Burnout and mental health problems are now very common among top-tier Dota players. In fact, a number of players including Tommy “Taiga” Le took mental health breaks mid-season in 2023. Between multiple DPC leagues with Majors and Dreamleagues, players were beginning the see the issues with consistently playing at a higher level.
With the removal of DPC leagues comes the hope that top-tier play will become more sustainable. Players and teams should be able to continue their careers without paying the price in their health.
Future of Dota’s Pro Scene
Dota is Valve’s flagship MOBA. With this in mind, any speculation that this is the end of Dota seems absurd. In fact, Valve confirmed in the blog post that they are already working on The International 2024. All of the changes that have been made in the last year are more a signal that Valve is putting more effort into Dota, not less.
That being said, the structure going forward is a little unclear. Valve’s focus is clearly on 2023 at the moment. That means that you won’t have to worry about The International betting opportunities – there are plenty to come! It’s likely that fans will have to wait until TI’s conclusion before any kind of announcement about leagues next year is made.
Pros React to Dota Pro Circuit Changes
Twitter has been abuzz with all of the recent changes. In the eyes of pro players, it seems that Valve can do no wrong right now. Regarding the latest DPC changes, Johan “N0Tail” Sundstein called them the “best thing to happen to Dota in a long time”. Similarly, Cr1t said “Valve constantly making good decisions and showing they care these last few months” with Insania chiming in “Valve cooking rn”.
But players aren’t the only pros involved in Dota. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes people who rely on the Dota Pro Circuit for regular work. It’s not yet clear how this will affect talent and production staff going forward. However, that being said, these members will always be necessary to create tournaments and ensure the future of Dota 2 match betting.
There are a lot of question marks about what the Dota 2 landscape will look like going forward. But overall, these changes seem to be a net positive for almost everyone involved.
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