ESL is without doubt one of the greatest occasion organizers in all of esports, and it seems just like the heavyweight firm goes to utterly overhaul its Dota 2 operations amidst the ever-changing panorama of Valve’s Dota Professional Circuit.
ESL has traditionally been tied on the hip with Valve’s bigger aggressive Dota ambitions, however with the 2023 DPC season, the steadfast associate was not given one of many regional excursions to function only one yr after working two. They are going to be working the Berlin Main to cap off the Spring Tour, however that’s seemingly all for ESL’s involvement with this yr’s lead-up to The Worldwide.
With its position shrinking in the case of Valve’s direct circuit, ESL seems to be wanting again to a pre-DPC regional tour mannequin the place it might run a number of massive occasions alongside no matter different tournaments Valve would hitch a wagon to.
On this case, a brand new report notes that the Saudi-owned firm will remix its present occasion construction into a brand new three-part circuit.
In response to paperwork obtained and published by reporter Richard Lewis, ESL is deep into internally overhauling its Dota 2 occasion plans to construct across the Riyadh Masters match sequence launched in 2022 by the Saudi Esports Federation (SEF).
Associated: Saudi-backed group scoops up more esports companies, broadening gaming influence
With this plan, ESL would flip its legacy DreamLeague sequence into a big on-line qualifier that acts because the “essential qualification pathway” for Riyadh Masters. It is going to characteristic a broadcast hosted in Stockholm whereas 16 groups will compete remotely from a location, of their selection, in Europe over a two-week interval for a $1 million prize pool.
After that, ESL One will return as an in-person occasion once more, with the standard qualifier and invite format Dota 2 followers are used to seeing. At the moment, the following iteration is reportedly set to happen in Thailand and can characteristic its personal $1 million prize pool.
Each of those occasions would be the lead-up for ESL’s new circuit, although the paperwork Lewis reported on solely specified how the multi-week DreamLeague competitors will truly tie into the Riyadh Masters. There may also reportedly be some additional “financial incentives for participation” that weren’t detailed within the preliminary abstract.
As for Riyadh Masters, we already know Gamers8 is considerably absorbing it into its Land of Heroes competition that may begin on July 8 and run for eight weeks, that includes quite a few different titles like Rocket League and Fortnite.
That expanded occasion will boast a $45 million prize pool, the biggest in esports historical past general—although it’s break up amongst all tournaments. Riyadh Masters 2022 did notably have the very best non-TI prize pool for Dota 2 at $4 million, which can seemingly enhance this yr as each ESL and the broader start throwing their nets into wider and testing the water.
Whereas this resolution would possibly sound like ESL is aiming to compete with Valve on paper, it’s clear from the internal documents and the TO’s historical past that this isn’t the case.
Associated: Dota 2’s new hero Muerta plays Artifact, which explains why the game is dead
Each time ESL would host main Dota 2 occasions that weren’t immediately tied to Valve or the DPC, they’d nearly all the time happen on impartial dates that may enable for prime expertise competing within the DPC to freely be a part of up between shifts working for that coveted TI invite. This can reportedly stay the case for this new world circuit, as ESL particularly goals to “praise” the DPC quite than combat it—with Lewis noting slides extending out two years with dates and plans slotting round identified Valve initiatives.
This announcement will seemingly excite Dota 2 gamers, although it can additionally draw eyes to the continued expanding influence of Saudi Arabia in esports and gaming.
Count on loads of conversations surrounding this information and the wider concerns it brings based mostly on the nation’s stance towards the LGBTQ+ neighborhood and customarily poor human rights data.
