Last season marked the first time since 2017 that a Dota Pro Circuit season ended with a region other than Western Europe lifting the Aegis of Champions, with Team Liquid and OG standing atop the Dota 2 mountain for three consecutive years.
Now, the region looks completely different, with four of the top six teams replacing at least two players after The International 10 in hopes of shaking things up and reclaiming the Aegis once more.
Prize pool and format
Running from now until Jan. 22, the 2022 DPC’s Winter Tour will see 16 teams competing across two different divisions for a spot at the corresponding Major or fighting to gain positioning for the next Tour, whether that be by maintaining their position in the upper division, earning a promotion from the lower division, or avoiding relegation.
Europe is one of two regions, alongside China, that will receive four spots at the Winter Major, including two wild card slots. Teams will also be playing a much longer game this year because the DPC points, which are required to earn a direct invite to TI, have been rescaled.
Instead of every regional league and Major amounting to the same number of DPC points, the Tours will give out more points as the season goes along. For example, the Winter Tour’s regional league will give out 300 DPC points for first place, compared to 500 points for the same placement in the third and final Tour.
Some things have remained the same, as every region will have a total prize pool of $280,000 per Tour, and the teams that underperform will be relegated out of the regional leagues. As of now, the bottom two teams from the upper division will be sent to the lower division, the top two teams from the lower division will be promoted to the upper division, and the bottom two teams from the lower division will be replaced in the next Tour by two teams from an open qualifier.
Related: Valve confirms 2022 Dota Pro Circuit Winter Tour Regional Finals, expanded roster for TI11
Teams to watch out for
Alliance, Team Liquid, and Team Secret all kept a strong core of players together while adding talent from outside their organization to try and redefine their styles and bring something new into the 2022 DPC.
Specifically for Secret, this move was a little strange considering they had their best finish ever at a TI and an incredible run with their previous roster. Adding SumaiL and iceiceice gives Puppey and his team a lot to work with, but now they have to contend with zai and MATUMBAMAN giving Liquid a similar lift.
OG are probably the most interesting team to watch, having replaced its entire roster with a mix of upcoming talent from around Europe that is being led by Misha and Taiga. Their team should still be a force in the upper division, but they are by far the biggest question mark among the top teams, especially since the likes of Nigma Galaxy and Tundra Esports also kept their rosters together.
As the new season begins, here are all of the standings, scores, and results for the Western Europe 2022 DPC Winter Tour Regional League, which will run from Nov. 30 to Jan. 22. You can view a full schedule here.
Standings
Upper division
| Rank | Team name | Series | Games | DPC Points | Seed | Prize |
| 1 | Team Liquid | 6-1 | 13-6 | 300 | Regional Finals | $30,000 |
| 2 | Team Tickles | 5-2 | 11-5 | 180 | Regional Finals | $28,000 |
| 3 | Tundra Esports | 4-3 | 9-6 | 120 | Regional Finals | $27,000 |
| 4 | OG | 4-3 | 10-7 | 60 | Regional Finals | $26,000 |
| 5 | Team Secret | 4-3 | 9-7 | 30 | $25,000 | |
| 6 | Nigma Galaxy | 4-3 | 8-9 | N/A | $24,000 | |
| 7 | Alliance | 1-6 | 3-12 | N/A | Demoted to lower division | $23,000 |
| 8 | Coolguys | 0-7 | 1-14 | N/A | Demoted to lower division | $22,000 |
Lower division
| Rank | Team name | Series | Games | DPC Points | Seed | Prize |
| 1 | Entity | 6-1 | 13-3 | N/A | Promoted to upper division | $17,000 |
| 2 | Brame | 6-1 | 13-5 | N/A | Promoted to upper division | $16,000 |
| 3 | Chicken Fighters | 6-1 | 13-4 | N/A | $15,000 | |
| 4 | CHILLAX | 3-4 | 7-9 | N/A | $11,000 | |
| 5 | Team Bald Reborn | 3-4 | 7-10 | N/A | $9,000 | |
| 6 | Into The Breach | 2-5 | 7-10 | N/A | $7,000 | |
| 7 | Ghost Frogs | 2-5 | 7-10 | N/A | Relegated | N/A |
| DQ | No Bounty Hunter | 0-7 | 0-14 | N/A | Relegated | N/A |
No Bounty Hunter was removed from Division II due to exceeding the allowed number of forfeits during the season.
Published: Jan 24, 2022 05:39 am