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Dota 24 years ago

One stop shop; DPC 2021 Season 1 guide

DPC 2021 Season 1 is about to kick off with a whole lot of Dota 2. 

After almost a year of a DPC draught, competitive games worth points towards The International 10 is finally back on the menu. And there is a LOT to choose from and keep track of. 

 

See what we mean???

Whether you think this season is going to be as hyped as expected or has already proven to be a big disappointment, it is time to get started and see which teams will be taking early leads in DPC points and heading to the first Major of the season and new year. 

Season 1

Season 1 league dates: January 18th – February 28th. (March 14th for China with a break in the middle)
Major 1: March 25th – April 4th

Major Slots

At the end of the league, the top teams from each region’s upper-division will qualify to the Major. For the first major, the distribution of the 18 slots will be as follows:

EU: Top 4
China: Top 4
SEA: Top 3
CIS: Top 3
NA: Top 2
SA: Top 2

Divisions 

 

Four teams for each region were directly invited to participate in the upper-division.  

Given that several teams experienced a lot of roster changes throughout the year and performance has varied among teams from the previous DPC season, we will not be using previous season’s DPC points as a way to seed teams into the leagues but rather selecting the top 4 teams in best form from each region to be directly qualified to the Upper-division, while a series of qualifiers, closed and open, will determine the remaining 12 teams in both divisions.

Other teams were invited to compete in closed qualifiers or decider tournaments to determine which division they would be relegated to. Open qualifiers were held for hopeful teams to compete for a spot in the lower division in order to prove their worth and work their way into the upper-division for Season 2. 

At the end of Season 1, the bottom two teams of the Upper Division in each Region will be relegated to the Lower Division, while the top two teams of the Lower Division will be promoted. The bottom two teams of the lower division will be eliminated from the league and open qualifiers will decide which are the two teams that will occupy those slots on the next season.

Upper-Division teams:

China

  • PSG.LGD (direct invite)
  • EHOME (direct invite)
  • ViCi Gaming (direct invite)
  • Elephant (direct invite)
  • Team Aster
  • Team MagMa
  • LBZS
  • Invictus Gaming

SEA

  • TNC Predator (direct invite)
  • Fnatic (direct invite)
  • T1 (direct invite)
  • BOOM esports (direct invite)
  • Neon Esports
  • 496 Gaming
  • Execration
  • Vice Esports

Europe

  • Team Liquid (direct invite)
  • OG (direct invite)
  • Team Secret (direct invite)
  • Team Nigma (direct invite)
  • Vikin.gg
  • Alliance
  • mudgolems
  • Chicken Fighters

CIS

  • Virtus.pro (direct invite)
  • Na'Vi (direct invite)
  • Team Spirit (direct invite)
  • Live to Win (direct invite)
  • Team Empire
  • No Techies
  • EXTREMUM
  • Team Unique

North America

  • Quincy Crew (direct invite)
  • Evil Geniuses (direct invite)
  • 4Zoomers (direct invite)
  • Sad Boys (direct invite)
  • undying
  • Black N Yellow
  • A-Team
  • 5man Midas

South America

  • SG Esports (direct invite)
  • Thunder Predator (direct invite)
  • Infamous (direct invite)
  • beastcoast (direct invite)
  • No-Ping esports
  • Team Unknown
  • EgoBoys
  • Latam Defenders

Lower Division teams:

China

  • Phoenix Gaming
  • RNG
  • Dalanjing Gaming
  • Sparkling Arrow Gaming
  • CDEC Gaming
  • Dragon
  • Dynasty
  • Xtreme Gaming

SEA

  • Galaxy Racer
  • Omega Esports
  • HOYO
  • Army Geniuses
  • Cignal Ultra
  • Yangon Galacticos
  • Lilgun
  • Zero Two

Europe

  • Hippomaniacs
  • Hellbear Smashers
  • Spider Pigzs
  • Brame
  • Creepwave
  • burjui
  • No Bounty Hunter
  • Meta4Pro

CIS

  • B8
  • Winstrike Team
  • HellRaisers
  • Gambit
  • PuckChamp
  • Imperial Pro Gaming
  • VP,Prodigy
  • XactJlepbI

North America

  • Team DogChamp
  • Felt
  • Electronic Boys
  • Byzantine Raiders
  • Arkosh Gaming
  • simply TOOBASED
  • Jiang Hu
  • The Cut

South America

  • Incubus Club
  • Infinity Esports
  • Hokori
  • Crewmates
  • 0-900
  • Inverse
  • Gorillaz-Pride
  • Mad Kings

Schedule:

Overall, the new schedule is as follows (All times Pacific Time). Be sure to keep an eye on the match-ticker and our tournament page for specific matchups each week. 
 

Upper Division

 MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
12AM ChinaSEA ChinaSEAChina
3AM ChinaSEASEA SEAChina
6AM    CIS CIS
9AM EuropeEuropeCISCISEuropeCIS
12PM EuropeSANASAEuropeNA
3PM NASANASASANA
6PM       

Lower Division

 MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
12PMChina  SEA   
3AMSEA  CISCIS CIS
6AMCISEuropeEuropeCIS Europe 
9AMEurope  SASASA 
12PMSANAEuropeSA NA 
3PMNA NA  NA 
6PM       
9PMChinaSEASEAChinaSEAChinaChina

 

Tournament Organizers

The six regional leagues will be operated by the following tournament organizers. More information on qualifiers, broadcasting, show, and talent information for each region will come from the respective organizer within the next few days. 

Europe: Dreamhack
CIS: ESL
China: Perfect World
SEA: PGL
NA: BTS
SA: Dotapit

Client Feature

In an upcoming update, by the end of January, the DPC circuit will become integrated with the client, featuring Standings, Schedule, and Tournament Information, as well as making it easy for people to follow their favorite teams and support them through purchasing seasonal Fan Support bundles.

Author
pandora-avatar
Cristy "Pandora" RamadaniPandora is a behind the scenes Dota 2 professional Jack of All Trades. When not busy with Dota 2 work, she is out trying to save the world or baking cupcakes. Follow her on Twitter @pandoradota2