What are the implications of the new DPC schedule changes?

The Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) schedule has been a hotly debated topic since the 2022 schedule was released in January 2022. With a revised six-week schedule that properly separates division one and two, Dota fans are cautiously optimistic about the prospects of this upcoming season.

The problem with the current schedule

The Dota community have made it clear to Valve that the current DPC schedule leaves a lot of room for improvement. Over a six week long season, matches are played weekly for between each team in their respective divisions. A major problem that teams faced was they they would have to prepare an entire week for a single series; teams would have to constantly scrimmage and plan for a series that would only take 4 hours from an entire week. Between the constant preparation required and bootcamps for Majors and third-party tournaments, many teams suffered from burnout throughout the year.

Recently, Roman “Resolut1on” Fomynok made his return after taking a long competitive break, citing professional burnout as the primary reason for his departure. At the beginning of this DPC season, several members of the two-time International winning OG Esports squad also took a break from the professional play due to the same reason. Players having to be practice for every week of the year until the International makes managing burnout the most important factor outside of the gameplay itself.

The new DPC schedule in 2023

The new DPC system the schedule will be more condensed for both divisions. Each season will still contain three tours, with Majors in between. However, divisions one and two will now run at different times. The first three weeks of each tour will be for division one, while the next three weeks will be for division two. This new split gives division one teams who qualify for the Major ample break time, while also allowing the remaining focus to be on division two. Here are the planned dates as follows:

Winter Tour: Div. I Jan. 9-29, 2023 and Div II Jan. 30-Feb 19, 2023.
Major: Feb 24 – Mar 5, 2023.

Spring Tour: Div I Apr. 13-April 2, 2023 and Div II Apr. 3 – Apr 23, 2023.
Major: Apr 28 – May 7, 2023.

Summer Tour: Div I May 15-Jun 4, 2023 and Div II Jun. 5-25, 2023.
Major: Jun 30 – Jul 9, 2023.