What will happen with the DPC league in the CIS: three scenarios

On March 14, the Dota Pro Circuit 2021/22 spring season began. Regional leagues started all over the world, except in the CIS. Valve has indefinitely postponed the season beginning in Eastern Europe. The Valve representatives announced that it would happen only if all the CIS teams would fulfill a range of conditions/demands. Among other things, it should confirm that the players will take part in all the matches of the season and then get visas to participate in the spring major. The fate of the DPC league in the CIS is still questionable. It will resume in a few weeks at best and never at worst. Then there will be no Eastern European teams at majors and The International 2022. Of course, it is too early to talk about it now, but there are concerns. Read what will be with the DPC league in the CIS and what are the possible scenarios in the material of Cybersport.Metaratings.ru.

On February 28, Valve indefinitely postponed the Dota Pro Circuit 2021/22 spring season in Eastern Europe. It should have been held from April 14 to 24 and finished with a major in the middle of May. The company didn't name the reasons for this decision, but it was probably connected to the political situation in the CIS territory.

At that time, there were still two weeks left before the beginning of the season, therefore the fans hoped the league would be held on time, but it didn't happen. On March 10, Valve deleted the information on the DPC league in Eastern Europe from the official site of the championship. Information about the teams participating in the tournament disappeared from the Dota 2 client. After that, everyone understood that there will be no games in the CIS for a long time. However, no one could name the reason for the season resuming, as nobody knew when it would be possible, at least from a technical point of view.

A week after the DPC spring season officially began, the Valve representatives contacted the clubs participating in the CIS league and named the conditions under which the championship would continue. To resume the league, the clubs have to provide guarantees on several points.

• All teams will be able to hold official matches at any time during the DPC league;
• The esports organizations should ensure the players can get international visas. It will let them perform at the ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022;
• The clubs should provide information confirming the possibility of receiving prizes from the organizers and passing them to the cyber athletes.

Valve will agree to continue the DPC league in the CIS only if all these conditions are fulfilled. Each team declared for the season has to meet these conditions. The Valve representative has requested answers from each club. If some organization ignores the request, the developers will decide that this team cannot guarantee its participation in the league. Thus, there will be no league. Valve believes that the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian teams may have difficulties implementing these points.

This was the company's position several weeks ago, but it hasn't changed, as far as we know. It is unclear when and whether the DPC league in the CIS will resume. There are three scenarios of the current situation. Let's call them "optimistic," "pessimistic," and "mixed" and describe each of them in detail.

It means the DPC league in the CIS will resume soon, and all the declared teams will take part there. Valve will meet them halfway and allow them to hold the league on tighter schedules. For instance, the league can last three weeks instead of six (everyone will be happy). Besides, they cannot organize a six-week league, as there is no time for that. The ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022 will start in a month, on May 12, so the CIS teams will have time to conduct a shortened league and go to Stockholm.

However, these are not all the conditions to go to the major. The CIS teams will have to get visas, receive prizes from foreign companies, and deliver them to the athletes. In a best-case scenario, the clubs will manage to do it, and everything will be fine. Then the CIS teams will take part in the DPC summer season and go to the third major in the USA and to The International 2022. Roughly speaking, this is an optimistic scenario, but it's hard to believe it.

The pessimistic scenario, according to which the spring DPC league in the CIS won't happen, is more believable. The major will be only in a month, and the teams need to have time for the flight. If the season doesn't start on April 18, it will most likely be canceled. Valve will hardly cram the whole season into two weeks, which means we are running out of time. If the league has not yet started, it is unlikely to start next week. The CIS teams will probably not qualify for the ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022 and participate in it. That's a pity, the teams had good chances.

But it is only the beginning of a terrible chain of events that can follow the missing of the Major. The teams from all regions, except the CIS, will gain DPC points during the league and the ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022. And the CIS will lose these points. Due to that fact, it will be more difficult to get a direct invite to The International 2022. Of course, Valve can somehow compensate for the points, but we shouldn't count on a wise and just decision of our favorite company. So, the CIS teams may miss the main tournament of the year because they will miss the DPC spring season.

And there is no guarantee the CIS teams will take part in the DPC summer season. Valve can postpone or cancel the league once again. Then the CIS won't get to The International 2022, as they won't have enough points. And even if they gain enough points, they may not be allowed into the country where TI 11 will be held. There are still problems with visas. The same is about the summer major that will be held in the USA. It will be hard for the CIS guys to get there. So, the CIS teams may miss this year: they will either have problems with visas or not have enough points to make it to the tournaments. It sounds sad, but it is highly likely to happen.

The mixed scenario means everything will go wrong, but Valve and the teams will find a way out of the situation. For example, if the league in the CIS doesn't happen, the company can invite three teams from the region to take part in the ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022 itself. Of course, it will be a controversial decision, but some Team Spirit and Virtus.pro deserve it. The teams showed a top-notch play at TI 10 and they will be the gem of this major.

If Valve decides not to invite the teams directly, it can give some DPC points to the whole CIS and divide them among all the first division teams. Yes, this distribution won't reflect the strength of teams in the region, but it's better than not having points at all.

One more decision is organizing the CIS league after the spring major. There will be just over a month before the start of the DPC summer season. The teams will fight not for the major but for the distribution of DPC points and relegation to the second division. We will also get a list of teams that will participate in the summer season. And if we combine it with the distribution of points for the major we described in the previous paragraph, the CIS won't be on the sidelines.

Now let's take the worst scenario: there will be no DPC league in the CIS till the end of the season, and the CIS teams won't participate in the majors. Even then Valve can organize qualifiers for the CIS, whose winners will go to The International 2022. It is the best decision for the current situation, though we hope it won't come to that. Moreover, by October, the political situation should get more or less stable, at least, it is quite likely.

In general, Valve can find the solution and do something so that the CIS teams continue to make their fans happy with their game at the majors and The International 2022. Everything depends only on Valve. We hope the company will meet the CIS halfway.