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Mars Media’s flagship Mars Dota 2 League (MDL) will be held in Chengdu, Sichuan. This will be the first Major of the upcoming Dota 2 season and will mark the 10th edition of the tournament.
MDL Chengdu will take place from Nov. 16 to 24 and will be the first Major tournament under Valve’s new DPC rules. Both the prize pool and DPC points awarded have been slightly redistributed.
Teams in the bottom four will receive 25 more DPC points than last year, while the first-place squad will get 100 less. The top-four teams will still receive the lion’s share of points.
| Place | Prize pool | DPC Points |
| First | $300,000 | 4,850 |
| Second | $160,000 | 3,000 |
| Third | $110,000 | 2,100 |
| Fourth | $80,000 | 1,350 |
| Fifth-sixth | $60,000 | 900 |
| Fifth-sixth | $60,000 | 900 |
| Seventh-eighth | $40,000 | 450 |
| Seventh-eighth | $40,000 | 450 |
| Ninth-12th | $20,000 | 150 |
| Ninth-12th | $20,000 | 150 |
| Ninth-12th | $20,000 | 150 |
| Ninth-12th | $20,000 | 150 |
| 13th-16th | $12,500 | 100 |
| 13th-16th | $12,500 | 100 |
| 13th-16th | $12,500 | 100 |
| 13th-16th | $12,500 | 100 |
The prize pool for the bottom-four teams has been bumped up by $2,500, while bottom-eight squads will receive $5,000 more than last year. Although this is an improvement over last year, Dota 2‘s ailing tier-two scene might need more to survive.
With some tier-one teams already opting to skip the first Major, Chengdu will be a chance for the underdogs to step up. If this year’s DPC plays out like previous years, a single high placing could be enough for team to get an invite to The International.
This year, the Minor and Major qualifiers have been combined. Therefore, the regional qualifiers from Oct. 5 to 10 will determine the attending teams for both Dota Summit 11 and MDL Chengdu. An additional slot at the Major will be reserved for the winner of the Minor.
