DOTA 2 Pro Circuit 2023: Top Professional Teams and Players at Point Spreads
DOTA 2 Teams Prepping for The International 12
It’s a new year, and DOTA 2 teams worldwide are preparing for The International 12! Last year we only covered the actual tournament itself, but we’re covering the whole damn thing this year. There’s much to unpack for the DOTA 2 Pro Circuit 2023, so let’s dive right in.
For esports bettors and those looking for the esports betting odds, you can scroll past all the DOTA 2 Pro Circuit 2023 rules. That information will be towards the end!
DOTA 2 Roster Rules
As in the previous Esports season, roster locks are implemented from the start of each Regional League until the end. Rosters will unlock after the Regional League portion of each Tour. The initial roster lock for the 2023 season happened at 11:59 am PT on December 9th, 2022.
For subsequent Tours, player removals will lock at 11:59 am PT on Tuesday after the Major, though players will still be allowed to be added to incomplete teams until 11:59 am PT on Sunday after the Major.
Any player removals will incur a 20% penalty to all DOTA 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) Points earned at the time of removal. A team that removes a player after securing a slot at a Major will receive a 20% penalty on DPC Points earned during that event, in addition to the standard player-removal penalty.
Teams may use a substitute for 4 out of the seven matches in the Regional League. A team that plays five or more Regional League matches with a substitute will be disqualified, and those teams will forfeit any remaining games. If a team does not play a Regional League match, that match is lost.
A team that forfeits two or more matches in a season will be out from the rest of the competition, and all their opponents from previous and subsequent games will get a default win. Any team that competes in a Major tournament with a substitute will incur a 40% penalty per substitute on DPC Points earned from that tournament. If teams need more than two substitutes, that team will forfeit.
DOTA 2 Pro Circuit Format
The format for the 2023 season remains the same as the previous season; however, each regional league division lasts three rather than six weeks (excluding tiebreakers). In addition, both divisions will be scheduled separately, one after the other, in their respective regions (the first Division followed by the second Division).
As in the previous DOTA 2 Pro Circuit 2023 season, teams from the same organization can play in the same Regional League, but only one team from an organization can qualify for The International. Suppose two teams from the same organization qualify for The International. In that case, that organization must remove all of its ties to one of the teams, or only the top team will be eligible.
At the end of the third Tour, the top twelve teams by DPC points are directly qualified for The International 2023. The regional qualifiers will determine the remaining six spots. All teams participating in the third Tour of the regional leagues are eligible to compete in the regional qualifiers, provided they do not replace up to two players from their third Tour’s roster.
As in the previous season, there will not be any Open Qualifier for The International. However, all Regional Leagues will have an Open Qualifier tournament for their Division II spots meaning that the third Tour’s open qualifiers will essentially act as TI Open Qualifiers.
| Tour 1 (Winter) | Tour 2 & 3 (Spring & Summer) |
|---|---|
| Four Single Elimination Open Qualifiers, two days each (total of eight days) | Three Single Elimination Open Qualifiers, two days each (total of six days) |
| Two teams from each Open Qualifier will advance to the Closed Qualifiers | Two teams from each Open Qualifier will advance to the Closed Qualifiers |
| Tour 1 (Winter) | Tour 2 & 3 (Spring & Summer) |
|---|---|
| Four Days | Four Days |
| Eight teams from Open Qualifiers | Six teams from Open Qualifiers |
| No direct invites | Two direct invites (Eliminated Teams from Division II) |
| Double-elimination without Grand Finals | Double-elimination without Grand Finals |
The DOTA 2 Pro Circuit Regional Leagues are divided into six regions. In ach Regional League is divided into two divisions (Division I and Division II) of eight teams. The regions are:
| North America (NA) |
| South America (SA) |
| Western Europe (WEU) |
| Eastern Europe (EEU) |
| China (CN) |
| Southeast Asia (SEA) |
At the end of each league, the bottom two teams of Division I are demoted to Division II, while the top two teams of Division II are promoted to Division I.
The bottom two teams of Division II are eliminated from the league, with winners of the Qualifier held within their Regional League replacing them. All other teams retain their position for the following Tour.
The teams with top placement in each region’s Division I compete in a Major. Each area is guaranteed a minimum of two slots for teams to fill. However, some Regions are allocated more slots. For example, DOTA 2 Pro Circuit 2023 Majors have a prize pool of $500,000, however, the earlier Majors grant fewer points.
| Participants | Group Stage | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|
| Western Europe: 4 Slots | Two groups of nine teams each | Twelve teams total |
| Eastern Europe: 3 Slots | Single round-robin | Double-elimination bracket |
| China: 4 Slots | All matches are Bo2 | All matches except Grand Final are Bo3 |
| Southeast Asia: 3 Slots | Top four teams advance to the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs | Grand Final is Bo5 |
| North America: 2 Slots | 5th and 6th placed teams advance to the Lower Bracket of the Playoffs | |
| South America: 2 Slots | The remaining teams are eliminated |
The first DOTA 2 Pro Circuit 2023 Major of the year is the Lima Major starting February 22nd. This tournament will feature 18 teams; we will have the entire roster in a few weeks. So keep an eye out for that article when it drops!
Esports Betting
Throughout the DOTA 2 Pro Circuit 2023, most teams will jump between their respective divisions. However, each region will have groups who are staples that qualify for each Major and usually represent them in the yearly TI tournament at the end of the year.
Here are the top two teams from each region, along with their odds DOTA 2 to make it to The International 2023:
| South America | Evil Geniuses (+255) | Thunder Awaken (+1200) |
| North America | Shopify Rebellion (+200) | TSM (+800) |
| Eastern Europe | Team Spirit (+100) | NAVI (+365) |
| Western Europe | Team Liquid (+550) | Team Secret (+450) |
| China | PSG.LGD (+250) | Knights (+2500) |
| Southeast Asia | Fnatic (+400) | Talon Esports (+1000) |
The outright betting odds above are set for the beginning of the season and are subject to change as the year progresses. When looking for esports betting odds, bettors should look at each Major before making bets on these teams.
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