PGL to supercharge Dota 2 competitive scene with eight $1 million prize pool events

It’s open season in the Dota 2 competitive scene as organizers race against each other to host events after Valve stepped back in 2024. Though ESL took the reins early, PGL announced today that it would throw its hat in the ring with eight $1 million prize pool events.

With the first PGL event scheduled for May 10, the tournament organizer is looking to commit to the Dota 2 scene until 2026. For its first event, Wallachia, PGL is planning to welcome teams on its home turf: Bucharest, Romania.

PGL Wallachia’s open qualifiers will begin on March 21, and the closed qualifier stage will start on March 25. PGL is one of the most known tournament organizers in the Dota 2 scene, as the organization was quite active toward the late 2010s, hosting six majors. After 2018, the organizer only hosted Singapore and Arlington Majors, which were in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Dota 2 fans were initially surprised to see the organizer taking a step back in 2024 as it has also been hosting DPC leagues, which Valve ended after TI12. It turns out PGL was plotting a comeback in the shadows, and it’s a very elaborate one at that. The second PGL tournament will take place in November 2024, while the rest will be held in 2025 and 2026.

In 2025 and 2026, fans can expect two Dota 2 tournaments in March and April and another in November, making for three PGL events in a calendar year. Prior to announcing its competitive plans, PGL was seemingly on a mission to take down Dota 2 players’ favorite content creators who specialized in uploading tournament replays via Valve’s Dota TV feature.

Following community backlash, PGL backed out of the endeavor. Though the organizer didn’t make an official comment about the takedown notices, it could have been trying to set the groundwork for its future tournaments.