Results of DPC 2021/22 Season 1: trends and problems of the first cycle
Yuriy SheremetYesterday in China there was a replay match for 2nd place in the standings. The duel between RNG and Team Aster put an end to not only the Chinese league, but the whole season.
Almost 2 months of uninterrupted Dota 2 of various calibers are behind us: from title fights between the giants of Europe, to hardships in the second divisions of South and North America. In our tribute to the first season, we recall the main events of the cycle that has come to an end and try to ignore the results, since our digests are full of them.
Make way for the young
After the victory of Team Spirit at The International 10, a “boom of emergence” of new performers began in the competitive arena of Dota 2. Almost all the teams in the world have adopted the strategy of the world champions in terms of the formation of the composition: the training camp of the "teams of all stars" has been replaced by the cultivation of new talents.
Best of all, this practice has taken root in the CIS. To make sure of its viability, just look at the TOP-4 of the region.
In the top four are the reigning world champions Team Spirit, PuckChamp, who brought together little-known performers and worked with them for the future, Virtus.pro, who updated the already fresh TI 10 roster and HellRaisers, who abandoned big names like Resolut1on and Lil in favor of talents like Watson and re1bl.
The practice of “rejuvenation” was observed in other regions, but there it worked much worse:
- In China, TOP-3 were taken by PSG.LGD, Team Aster and RNG. Each team consists of time-tested performers with many years of experience behind them.
- In North America, the stagnation continues. The whirlwind of players does not end, and the legionnaires come to the region, but this does not affect the final position - the same Quincy Crew, EG and Undying are in the TOP.
- Southeast Asia has become close in spirit to the CIS region - BOOM took the first place there with an updated roster and an experienced coach behind them. However, it is worth noting the eliminated teams: TNC Predator and OB Esports x Motivate.Trust Gaming bet on the "green" performers who were burning with the game and lost.
- In Western Europe, the new formula for the collection of formulations proved to be applicable rather than vice versa. If we don’t take into account the unconditional 1st place for the extremely experienced Liquid with Zai and MATUMBA, then here are Tickles and completely new OG for 2nd and 4th place - confirmation of the efficiency of the scheme for collecting young players.
After the first DPC season in 2021/22, we can conclude that the scene is getting younger, but this does not bring results in the short term. Ahead of us will be a period of reshuffles, after which we will most likely see the return of the "deserved" scene veterans to the competitive level.
Long way and predictable ending
DPC 2021/22 Season 1 started in November/December 2021 and ran through January of that. This period was full of bright moments, but in the end everything turned out approximately as expected, with the exception of minor sensations.
The current world champions Team Spirit became the champions in the CIS. Dragons lost only 1 map for DPC.
- In China, another title division, PSG triumphed. LGD, the terror of past seasons, did it again. Seven wins in seven matches and only 3 given cards.
- With Europe, everything is a little more interesting: Secret did not get unrestrained domination, but Team Liquid, having acquired two players from the TOP-3 of The International 10, managed to win the league, taking 6 matches out of 7 played.
- North America remains the same. At the start of the season, Wildcard Gaming and Black N Yellow pleased by beating EG, but at the end of the day, the good old Quincy-Undying-EG triumvirate is in the lead, and the positions of the teams can be changed randomly.
- The revelation was Southeast Asia. This season before The International 10, T1 ruled the ball, but after a trip to Bucharest they were caught, and now the title team is content with only 3rd place, letting Fnatic and BOOM go ahead.
- In South America, ex-NoPing players, who already dominated the regional league last season, took the championship without much effort.
This paragraph is another confirmation of the work for the future. This obvious truth is difficult to apply to Dota 2, as the local competitive environment suffers greatly from the hypertrophied The International, which completely kills the ecosystem of third-party tournaments.
A few majors and local tournaments serve only one purpose - to collect the necessary points to pass to The International. There is nothing wrong with The Internationals themselves, only the teams that do not go there are bad from the presence of such tournaments.
No holiday at the end
Perhaps the most important thing that I remember at the end of DPC 2021/22 Season 1 was the cancellation of the full-fledged Major. Unfortunately, after a hopeful 2021, the start of 2022 is pushing us back to the days of endless local events like 2020.
Instead of a major international LAN tournament, we got a mini-sequel of DPC 2021/22. No confrontation between 16 teams with the best teams from different regions - we will watch the next derbies between Tundra and Liquid, PSG.LGD and Aster, Spirit and VP and so on.
The distribution of DPC points during the season was already a controversial issue, and the appearance of regional finals, instead of a full-fledged major, will not solve it in any way. Valve's decision to distribute DPC points is commendable, but it doesn't work within regional events.
At the Major, DPC points were awarded to the best teams from all regions. The performance of clubs in the key tournaments of the season before The International from a particular league is an indicator of the strength of the region. It is not for nothing that last year the Major champions took 2 places in the TOP-4 of The International 10.
Now, extra points are given almost free of charge: teams that are already in the TOP-4 of their league have an additional chance to earn important points and money. Their number is regulated - the first 2 places in each region will receive incentive points, but this seems not enough.
Last season, there was an uproar about the fact that they give as many points in the Major as for winning the regional league. In the 21/22 season, the situation was corrected by cutting the number of points won within the region, but with the advent of regional finals, this measure looks useless.
The first season turned out to be protracted and at the end of this long journey, the community will not end up in the form of a major, of which there have been so few lately. After DPC 2021/22 Season 1, it is encouraging that Valve seems to be in dialogue with professional teams, but how much they will last is not yet clear.
Be that as it may, there are interesting weeks ahead of us. The final regional final will take place on February 20th, followed by the long-awaited global patch and reshuffles before the start of the second DPC. We hope and wait.
Yuriy Sheremet – Expert in mobile gaming and esports among shooters and MOBA games.
At EGamersWorld, Yuriy, as in 2020 when he joined the portal, works with content, albeit with adjustments to his area of responsibility.