DPC Winter Tour Week 1 survival guide

The Dota Pro Circuit is back with a revamped format and new rosters that will be fighting starting this coming Monday, November 29, for DPC points, Major spots or for promotion.

Similar to the previous DPC Season, the 2021-22 one features six regional leagues, each with two divisions and eight teams fighting in each of the divisions. This year, however, the DPC is split into three Tours, each culminating with a Major. The DPC points will gradually increase with every Tour as follows:

Winter Tour 2021

• Regional Leagues total DPC points: 690
• Major total DPC points: 1,900

Spring Tour 2022

• Regional Leagues total DPC points: 920
• Major total DPC points: 2,700

Summer Tour 2022

• Regional Leagues total DPC points: 1,150
• Major total DPC points: 3,500

DPC Winter Tour: November 29 – January 22

Division I

Those who start the new DPC year from Division I will be fighting for a spot at the first Major of the new competitive year, and a share of the 690 DPC points and $205,000. Only the top five teams from Division I will earn DPC points. The sixth placed team will get to keep its spot in the league, while those finishing in the 7th/8th place will be relegated into Division II for the next Tour.

Division II

Division II has a total prize pool of $75,000 and no DPC points to offer, but those placing top two at the end of the Winter Tour will promote into Division I for the next Tour. The prize pool will be split between the top 6 teams, while the bottom two will be eliminated from the regional league and will have to go through open qualifiers for the next Tour.

Winter Tour 2021 kicks off on the 29th of November with Division II matches from all six regions, followed by the Division I which is set to begin Tuesday, November 30 with matches from Western Europe and North America regional leagues.

Week 1 hot matches

First week of the Winter Tour will bring plenty of exciting series to watch.

Western Europe:
Steam: twitch.tv/dreamleague

On Monday at 15:00 CET, the revamped Alliance will be playing against Tundra Esports, who made no roster change. On the same day at 18:00 CET, the new Team Secret with Syed “SumaiL” Hassan in the mid lane and Daryl Koh “iceiceice” Pei Xiang in the offlane will take on the youngsters from the new OG. 

Both Secret and Alliance have two series scheduled for the first week. They will be returning on Saturday, December 4, fighting against each other at 18:00 CET

Eastern Europe
Stream: twitch.tv/epicenter

All three top contenders for a spot at the first Major from the CIS regional league will be playing on week one. Natus Vincere were the first team in the region to introduce a new roster, even before TI10 started. Fighting in the Winter Tour with Alexey “Solo” Berezin under their banner for the first time, NAVi will be pitted against PuckChamp on December 2 at 18:00 CET.

On the next day at 12 CET, the TI10 champions, Team Spirit will begin their road to TI11 with the first match in the DPC being against Team Unique.  Week 1 in the Eastern Europe regional league will come to a close on December 5 at 18:00 CET with a clash between the revamped rosters of Virtus.pro and HellRaisers, both giving a chance this Winter Tour to up-and-coming players.

Southeast Asia
Stream: twitch.tv/beyondthesummit

SEA Dota 2 fans will have to give their full attention to both divisions in this first tour as the new entry into the competitive scene, Talon Esports will be fighting in Division II. With Tal “Fly” Aizik at the helm of their first-ever Dota 2 team, they will start their grind to Division I on December 2 at 09:00 CET when they will be fighting against Polaris Esports.

Division I will open on December 1st at 09:00 CET with a clash between T1, who made no roster change and TNC Predator, who enter the new DPC with a  full new roster. Fnatic, who welcomed two new players to their ranks, will play their first DPC series on December 4 at 09:00 CET against Team SMG.

North America
Stream: twitch.tv/esl_dota2

Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka’s return to the competitive scene is without a doubt the most surprising move of the post TI10 shuffle. The two-time TI champion will be playing in the Winter Tour with Evil Geniuses, and his first match since The International 2019 will be held on December 4 at 21:00 against Arkosh Gaming.

Until then, however, the NA Division I starts on November 30 at 21:00 CET with the revamped Quincy Crew fighting versus simply TOOBASED.

South America
Stream: twitch.tv/epulzegaming 

The shuffle in SA led to a couple of organizations swapping rosters, which might have some of the fans confused when watching the matches on week 1. Division I will begin on December 2 at midnight, CET time with former NoPing e-sports line-up playing in the Winter Tour under the Thunder Predator banner. They will fight twice in the first week, the next series for them being on December 5, at the same hour.  The former TP players will start the road to TI11 as Lava and will make their DPC debut on December 5 at 21:00 CET.

China
Stream: twitch.tv/pwrdesports1

Due to several Chinese players still being stranded in Europe after TI10, Division I for China regional league will start only next year, on the 3rd of January. In the meantime, Division II matches run as planned, beginning on November 29.

Source: https://www.gosugamers.net/dota2/news/55167-dpc-winter-tour-week-1-survival-guide