During the past few weeks, Dota 2 announced the cancellation of the first Major of DPC 2021-2022 Season. This was heavily influenced by the current pandemic happening all over the world. With the new Omicron variant, a LAN tournament was less likely to happen. Valve wasn't clear at first because they didn't present any alternative to the cancellation of the Winter Major. Valve didn't feel confident that there was any alternative that would produce a positive outcome. They would also feel that delaying the major would reflect negatively to the teams as some of them might have changed rosters or have a different patch to work with. They can't also run the tournament globally as there would be latency issues from far regions, affecting the quality of matches.

The Dota 2 developer faced a lot of backlash and harsh critiques from the community for not having a contingency plan unlike other game titles. They admitted to have not prioritized their fans as well as their players participating in the DPC. With this in mind, they discussed with Teams and Tournament Organizers on what they feel like the right decision should be. They came to a conclusion of having Regional Finals for all regions to address the issue and give out DPC points for the qualified teams for the Dota Major. Replacing the Major with a Regional Finals Tournament style would be the best option to solve the cross-region lobby issue as well as having each region earn more DPC points going to the International qualification. 

The DPC 2021-2022 Regional Finals will happen on two weekends at different times for the regions. Three regions will be playing on February 11-13, while the other three will play on February 18-20. The top 4 from all regions will compete in a double elimination tournament with a $100,000 prize pool. WEU, SEA, and SA will be the first ones up on February 11-13. These three regions have a different time slot so possible overlapping would be lessened for fans to enjoy more Dota. CN, EEU, and NA will play on February 18-20 for their regional finals. All of them also have different time slots.

Each Regional Finals placement will be awarded the following:

  • 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

Other details from each region will come from the region's tournament organizer. As stated by Valve, they pointed out the same points each region would get, meaning the International qualification would be calculated differently. They will have a different ruling this time for teams to still compete in the International. The International 11 will house 20 teams this year (two groups of 10) during the event proper. Four of them (two from each group) will be eliminated while the Main Event will happen as is like any other TI. With the absence of the first Major, teams will really prepare for this Regional Finals as they would have a higher chance on getting in the International when they win 250 DPC points. Valve will be announcing further information for the second and third Major within the next few weeks. 

In the meantime, let's enjoy the Dota 2 holiday that will come. Here are the teams who will compete for each region:

WEU

  • Team Liquid
  • Team Tickles
  • Tundra Esports
  • OG

SEA

  • BOOM Esports
  • Fnatic
  • T1
  • Team SMG

SA

  • Thunder Awaken
  • Infamous
  • Beastcoast
  • APU King of Kings

CN

  • PSG.LGD
  • Team Aster
  • Royal Never Give Up
  • EHOME

EEU

  • Team Spirit
  • PuckChamp
  • Virtus.pro
  • HellRaisers

NA

  • Quincy Crew
  • Team Undying
  • Evil Geniuses
  • 4 Zoomers