What to look for at the start of Dota 2’s 2019 Pro Circuit

Things tend to be slow at the start of a new year for most competitive scenes, whether that be to give more time off for the players to rest or conflicting schedules leading to events being canceled to avoid issues. Whatever the case may be, the Dota Pro Circuit planned ahead to ensure this wouldn’t be an issue in 2019.

In just a few short days, The Bucharest Minor will kick off the next stage of the DPC. From Jan. 9 to 13, eight teams will battle for their share of $300,000 and 500 DPC points in the second minor of the season.

The winner of this event will receive the final invite to The Chongqing Major, $125,000, and 120 DPC points. But this event is just the opener for the aforementioned Major.

Sixteen teams will battle it out in the second Major event of the 2018-19 DPC and the competition is extremely tight considering nearly every team in attendance is ranked in the top 20 point totals as of now. This event will run from Jan. 19 to 27, giving viewers more than a week of matches to watch.

Related: Valve bans TNC Predator’s Kuku from Chongqing Major following racist comments

Whoever wins the Chongqing Major will get $350,000 and 4,950 DPC points. That will put them instantly within the top two of the rankings depending on where Virtus Pro, the winners of the previous Major, end up placing at the event.

That’s it for actual events within the DPC happening in January, but the action picks right back up once February starts.

Right when the new month begins, teams will start competing for their spot in the next Major, DreamLeague Season 11. No teams have been announced yet, but qualifiers will run from Feb. 1 to 5 for the event set to take place in March.

Just two days after that, another set of qualifiers will begin to decide several teams for the unannounced third minor of the season. Those qualifiers will be shorter, only running three days from Feb. 7 to 10, and that event will start on March 4.

And that will conclude the DPC action until March, leaving non-DPC events, like MDL Macau 2019 and ESL One Katowice 2019, to fill the void for fans wanting to see top-tier Dota 2 action. But with a stacked schedule early on, the race to reach The International 2019 is heating up.