Yesterday Valve released a statement which confirmed some major changes coming for the next competitive season. It wasn’t long before the pro community gave some feedback.
Coach Heen’s thoughts
The most notable outlash at the upcoming changes came from Lee "Heen" Seung Gon. Heen was best known for coaching Team Liquid for over two years, he later did the same for TNC Predator and now retains the same position with Team Secret. Heen was one of the first pro players to release a statement and it wasn’t pretty.
What/Why I don't like the next DPC seasonRead: https://t.co/0zSJPtMKDd
— Heen (@Heen1337) February 26, 2020
Later he posted another tweet, apologizing for his tone in the previous one and continuing his analysis.
I took a deep breathRead: https://t.co/nJSZWUicTE
— Heen (@Heen1337) February 26, 2020
If you have the time and focus to read through both you’ll understand that while generally supporting the idea of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Dota, some of Heen’s concerns make sense. We’ll try to make a short summary of them here.
Regional representation
Not all regions in Dota 2 are equal and a huge part of the community would agree. Europe is considered one of the tougher regions to be in right now as OG, Team Secret, Nigma, Alliance, Team Liquid and Ninjas in Pyjamas are all in there. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s South America (a favourite of Heen) where there are only one or two teams that compete at the highest levels. Things aren’t much different in the north where Evil Geniuses are basically the only team playing on a world-class level. Heen’s concern is that teams from weaker regions will be getting “undeserved” slots for the Majors and most importantly at The International.
There’s also the lack of International clashes outside of Majors/TI where teams will usually be tested against the best. Being locked inside your own region for six weeks straight might make for a more sustainable schedule, but it reduces the global competition.
Teams forced to take part in events
Another concern raised by Heen is that in order to maximize DPC points, teams wouldn’t want to miss an event. This is in contrast to what we’ve see so far as several big organizations like OG, Team Secret, PSG.LGD simply skipped the first Major of the season. Valve don’t seem to like that and are trying to change the system in such a way that it doesn’t happen anymore. Honestly, this doesn’t seem like a bad thing. Big teams not being part of the first couple of tournaments is never a good thing and it brings a lot more harm than good to the scene. What Heen is actively trying to say is that what's good for Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams is not necessarily beneficial for the Tier 1.
The prize disbalance between The International and everything else
From Valve’s perspective, the total amount of money for the season remains unchanged. As it used to be $6.5 million, 5x Majors ($5 million) + 5x Minors ($1.5 million). Now with regional leagues, it’s $280,000 per region for three seasons bringing the final sum for all of them to a little over $5 million. Add to that the three Majors with $500,000 prize money for each and the amount comes exactly the same at $6.5 million.
The problem is that The International was already standing times above the biggest Major and now with the prize pool of Majors going down this difference is even more noticeable. Unlike previous years though teams will have to qualify for TI through the leagues as open qualifiers are a no-go for now. OG’s story wouldn’t be possible in the future season.
Up for discussion
No matter which side you’re taking it appears that just as many expected things are not final. Evil Geniuses CEO Phillip Aram revealed that Valve have already planned a follow-up meeting to talk through potential changes to the new system.
In the future, I would love to see all stakeholders continue a more regular feedback loop to support each other and the scene. Valve has already taken the first step in that by offering another meeting at the upcoming LA major. Hope to see you all there!
— Phillip Aram (@Phillip_Aram) February 26, 2020
We don’t usually see this kind of open communication from Valve and it’s good that they’re finally on the right path of being more transparent.
