Valve is changing its approach to competitive Dota 2, just two years after introducing the Majors, and the publisher is partnering with an assortment of third-party tournament organizers to make the game even bigger during the 2017-2018 season (and beyond). The incoming changes will drastically expand the competitive calendar and formalize the process for earning a spot in The International, changes that should appease those hoping for more structure in competitive Dota.
Beginning this fall, Valve will sponsor two tiers of tournaments. Three, if we’re acknowledging how much the International prize pool tends to dwarf other Majors. Going forward, Majors will be the term for any event offering $500K (or more) in prize money. Valve will also match the first $500K, and organizers can raise money from Battle Pass and treasure sales, instantly creating a new series of million dollar tournaments for the Dota 2 scene. Valve will also sponsor a series of smaller events, called Minors, with at least $300,000 ($150K from Valve and $150K from tournament organizers) ready to be won. All Valve-sponsored events will be required to run open qualifiers in six regions -- CIS, CN, EU, NA, SA and SEA -- to supplement direct invites.
Teams will also receive Qualifying Points determined by their performance in Majors and Minors. Point distribution for each event will vary, based on the prize pool. Valve says Majors will also have a better dollar-to-point ratio than Minors, but no further specifics have been given. Time of year will also play a role, with events closer to the International awarding more Qualifying Points than events held in close approximation to the previous year’s championship. Every member of a team will receive the same number of points for participating in an event and retain those points if they move to another squad. But only the three players with the highest point totals will be used to calculate a team’s placement Qualifying Point total.
Valve is also changing its approach to roster locking. Teams will now be subject to roster lock seasons, many of which will cover multiple events, but the Dota 2 developer says each squad will still have multiple opportunities to tweak its lineup before the International.
For more on the upcoming changes, check out the official Dota 2 blog.
Dota 2 is currently available on PC and OS X.
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