Valve has officially confirmed it is partnering with Beyond the Summit to run a last-minute Spring Tour for Dota 2 teams in Eastern Europe’s Dota Pro Circuit after it was indefinitely postponed in February due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, it will not be a full season.
According to Valve, the EEU DPC region will host an expedited set of regional, online qualifiers to decide which three teams will be invited to the ESL One Stockholm Major in May. These qualifiers will be hosted by BTS starting on April 27.
In an updated statement on March 11, Valve noted it did “not see a way that the Eastern European DPC league can happen as envisioned for the foreseeable future.” At the same time, Epic Esports Events, the original tournament organizer in charge of competitions for the EEU Spring Tour, previously relinquished its Dota 2 hosting and production rights so Valve could explore other options for making sure something was able to happen.
This is an attempt from Valve to ensure an in-person Major actually happens this time, after the Winter Tour’s Major was canceled due to COVID and travel concerns. Efforts to replace it with online Regional Finals were met with mixed fan reception.
Beyond the Summit is set to release more specifics about the format and schedule in the near future but, for now, fans can look forward to seeing Team Spirit and the other top teams in EEU back in action on April 27. The Stockholm Major is scheduled to take place from May 12 to 22.
Update April 26 12:10am CT: Beyond the Summit has confirmed the format for the EEU DPC online qualifiers that will take the place of the region’s Spring Tour.
From April 27 to May 2, all eight teams listed in the Division I regional league will compete in a double-elimination bracket where the top two teams directly qualify for the Stockholm Major.
The teams that finish between third and sixth will play additional matches in a separate bracket to determine the third Major invite for the region. The bottom two teams overall will be relegated to Division II for the Summer Tour.
Division II teams will also have their own, different competition to settle the Spring Tour standings at a later date. Both events will split a $140,000 prize pool.
