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Before the 2019-20 Dota Pro Circuit season is done and dusted, ONE Esports has already set its sights on the next season of Dota 2. The organizer will host the second Jakarta Invitational from Nov. 23 to 29.
The tournament will be a third-party event and will feature an eye-popping $500,000 prize pool. It takes place between next season’s first Fall League and Major.
While details are scarce for now, the full-week length of the tournament indicates a larger pool of teams than previous Invitationals, which consisted of 12 teams. With ONE Esports opening up two qualifying slots for public teams for its first Jakarta event, the organizer might be looking to expand its offering even further.
Considering the tight timeline of the event, it might be difficult to attract premier teams like ONE Esports did for its previous competitions. But the schedule of matches in the leagues is more stretched out, which might help with player fatigue, so third-party tournaments could stand to benefit.
ONE Esports organized the first premier tournament for the Outlanders patch in December. Despite its third-party status and a small pool of 12 teams, the tournament managed to attract some of the biggest names in Dota 2, including Team Secret, who elected to skip the first Major of the season.
Related: Vici Gaming sweep Evil Geniuses to win ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational
This will be ONE Esports’ fourth Dota 2 event after it hosts the final Major of the 2019-20 DPC in Singapore. As the last Major of the season, it will likely play an important role in deciding the final invites to The International 2020.
Last year’s EPICENTER Major was the site for the last invite to TI9. Alliance beat out Gambit Esports to secure their berth in Shanghai, while Gambit failed to make it to TI altogether.
With Valve putting out open calls for tournament organizers to run next season’s leagues and Majors, ONE Esports is certainly building a fine case for itself. The Singapore-based organizer has placed a focus on hosting tournaments and building up the Southeast Asian region.
ONE Esports’ willingness to commit to a schedule so far ahead of time is a good indicator of the organizer’s confidence, despite the likeliness of next year’s DPC remaining in flux. Being backed by one of the largest global sports media properties in Asia certainly has its benefits.
