The new Dota 2 system essentially repeats League of Legends. If you dig even deeper – all this we have already seen in traditional sports.

The new Dota 2 system essentially repeats League of Legends. If you dig even deeper – all this we have already seen in traditional sports. Finally, Valve also decided on a system of regional leagues. How working she will be in Dota 2, we will find out next season. Much will depend precisely on the implementation, but on paper the regional leagues look like a long-awaited gift for the audience – and here’s why.

Dota 2 will become a ritual

Those who follow the football know that there is a fairly clear schedule. Most matches of the national championships are played on weekends (with the exception of midwick), principled derby is mandatory in the evening, the Champions League in the evening on Tuesday and Wednesday, etc. The established schedule makes it a habit for viewers to broadcast at a certain time, building their day like this so as not to miss an important meeting. In Dota 2, everything was too spontaneous – a month can be complete silence, and then qualifications start, and now for three days there are non-stop matches. Moreover, a meeting with a really interesting sign can take place on Tuesday morning – not the most convenient time for the audience.

Now we will have a clear, unchanging schedule with prime time matches. If you follow one or two regions, then you will not have a glut of Dota. There will be time to discuss past matches and enjoy the excitement before waiting for the next. And the viewing of games during the season itself can be turned into a ritual with all its attendants. As the hero of the Soviet film said: “Every Friday my friends and I go to watch Dota. This is our tradition. ”

Less meaningless matches

There will be more matches in the new system, but their value only increases from this. Both leaders and outsiders of both divisions will fight until the last round. Finally, a more tangible advantage has appeared for the teams that occupy first places. If earlier a specific line determined only seeding, now leadership in the league provides access directly to the playoffs of a major. Naturally, there could be situations when in the last round there are teams from the middle of the table, whose duel does not affect anything, but this is an exception. The matches of outsiders and favorites will be even hotter, because now the victory will be fundamentally important for both, and not just for the one who is fighting for access to the major.

There will also be more top fights. In qualifiers on ESL One Los Angeles 2023 we never saw the confrontation Og and Team secretand yet, given their level of play, this could be the most spectacular qualifying match. They did not agree in full-time confrontation and Virtus.pro from Natus vincerethat would be a very hot event. The circular system should correct this shortcoming, but at the same time, and save us from repeating pairs.

Less random

The new system obliges teams to show a stable game for a long time. Dark horses like Vega Squadron before TI9, which outplayed everyone in the first two days of closed qualification, will be gone. The teams will approach each match as prepared as possible, thoroughly examining the opponents in advance, and not in a hurry watching replay one hour before the match.

With matches once a week, you can no longer justify an unsuccessful result by the phases of the moon, poor health or an inappropriate emotional background. It is at a distance that the level of teams, the class of players and the effectiveness of the management approach to building the training regimen are best manifested. The team will have to maintain the necessary gaming conditions and working atmosphere for six weeks, not three days. Thanks to the regional leagues, the majors will really get the best.

OG strategy won’t work anymore

Skipping half of the season, resting after The International, now fails. Refused to fight for the first major – that means you will miss the second. The new system does not allow this lightning-fast take-off from open qualifications to a major participant in a week. You can get to the tournament only through the top division. To do this, you will have to spend the season in the lower division, but you also need to qualify for it first. So, all the Dota 2 grandees will be required to be involved in the fight from the very beginning of the season. First of all, the viewer wins from this, to whom the majors with the composition of participants will no longer slip, as on MDL Chengdu Major.

Will clubs fall apart?

In the new season there should be fewer one-day clubs and stacks collected the day before the qualification. For tier-2 / tier-3 teams, getting into the lower division is a good incentive to continue to play together and develop. Now the stacks that managed to break into the closed qualifiers are left with nothing, because the grands still don’t let them in tournaments. The system of regional leagues will allow them to have a stable income and very realistic goals. Thanks to this, instead of a crazy mess of constant reshafles and disbands, the practice of point transfers can be established. From the point of view of scandals and intrigues, it will perhaps not be so hot, but more productive in terms of games.

The emergence of second squads and new organizations

The lower division for many regions can also turn into a kind of youthful academy in which clubs will follow the farm teams or create second squads. In the CIS, for example, full-fledged and stable roasters will be enough only for the top division. At the same time, decent money is paid for participation in the lower division – from $ 7 thousand to $ 17 thousand. New organizations for Dota 2 can occupy these eight free slots: for example, Avangar in the CIS or Faze clan in North America.

Clubs that already have Dota 2 rosters will find it easier to collect additional rosters. Players in such academies will have constant competitive practice, stable earnings and prospects of getting into the main team. Such a system in the future may finally create a more understandable and efficient elevator from pubs and shooting gallery-300 stacks to the professional stage and top teams.

The fact that Valve still decided on a change is a good sign. However, such a radical restructuring will affect everyone: players, organizations, tournament operators and spectators. The success of this experiment depends primarily on how quickly Valve will respond to emerging issues and criticism of the community. If the company can develop the league system and modify it right during the first season, Dota 2 as an e-sports discipline has a chance to reach a new level.