The 2023 DPC Season is finally here that signals the return of competitive Dota 2, and it begins with the Winter Tour. While regional plays in China have started, other regions are set to follow on January 8. There's no question that a lot of fans are excited to see the different matches. However, there's another reason for them to be excited which is the new season of the Supporters Club Bundles and Fantasy play.
Supporters Clubs
In this setup, teams are asked to submit content featured in a Supporters Club bundle. In return, the teams get 50% of all the bundle sales related to them. Fans, meanwhile, can choose to support teams and receive increasing amounts of content provided by the team they support.
All of these are based on tiers purchased, which are:
- Bronze Tier
- A badge of the fans' favorite team which appears in their:
- Friends List
- Player Profile
- Versus Screen
- In-Game Scoreboard
- 1 Team Fantasy Player Pack
- 1 Basic Fantasy Player Pack
- Silver Tier
- All the perks of the Bronze Club
- Sprays to liven up your map and Loading Screens
- 2 additional Team Player Card Packs
- 6 additional Basic Player Card Packs
- Gold Tier
- All of the perks of the Bronze and Silver Clubs
- Items for fans to proclaim their allegiance in-game that include:
- In-Game Hp-Bar Badge
- Emoticons
- Chat Wheel Lines
- 3 additional Team Player Card Packs
- 7 additional Basic Player Card Packs
Fantasy Play
For those new to Dota 2 or the Fantasy format, full details are available in the "How to Play" breakdown under the Fantasy section.
Basically, what happens is that for each week-long period, fans can set a Fantasy roster made up of:
- Two Core Player Cards
- One Mid Player Card
- Two Support Player Cards
Player Cards on a roster score Fantasy points based on how well they perform in that period's matches. Silver and Gold Cards come with stat bonuses that earn more points.
All players get 10 starter packs that can be claimed on the DPC menu under the Watch tab. Additional Player Card Packs, meanwhile, can be earned daily by winning a game. Team Packs are also available and can be purchased directly from the Player Cards tab in the Watch section.
When players open a pack, they receive player cards from the specific region they have selected.
Regional Fantasy
It's important to remember that each DPC region has its own Fantasy league. That means it comes with its own player cards as well as unique lineup. However, fans have the option to join in multiple regional leagues. In this case, they earn Fantasy levels based on their best Fantasy league performance for the period.
For example, if fans place in the top 50% in one league and 10% in another, they get the points for the top 10% placement. It's important to remember that region rewards don't stack.
Anyway, at the end of each period, fans earn levels based on the Fantasy points for that period. Rewards are unlocked based on their current overall Fantasy level.
Scoring Matches
Only Division I matches during the new Winter Tour are eligible for Fantasy play. The highest scoring two games of a best-of-three count toward a player's score. If a team plays more than one series during a particular period, only their highest-scoring series counts.
Those that score in the top 100%/50%/25%/10% earn 1/2/3/4 Fantasy levels. Each level grants 350 Shards while every fourth level doubles to 700 Shards.
You can check out what to expect from the Winter Tour here. Dota 2 is available on PC.
