Esports tournament organiser and holding company ESL FACEIT Group has officially revealed the schedule for the Dota 2 ESL Pro Tour in 2024.
Next year, the ESL Pro Tour calendar will include three online DreamLeague seasons and two live ESL One tournaments. To signify the end of ESL Pro Tour Season 2, there will be an international event in July 2023.
The main difference compared to Season 1 is the introduction of the EPL Leaderboard. Teams competing in DreamLeague seasons and ESL One competitions will gather EPT Points based on their placement in the tournament, and the squads with the most EPT points will receive a direct invite to July’s ‘Showdown’ event.
The season will start with DreamLeague Season 22, taking place online between February 25th and March 10th, with the event featuring a $1m (~£790,710) prize pool. The tournament will feature two group stages and a playoff round.
Prior to the competition, the top four teams on the EPT Leaderboard will receive a direct invite to the competition, whereas the remaining participants will need to go through online open and closed qualifiers.
After DreamLeague Season 22 is ESL One Europe, an in-person tournament taking place between April 22tg and April 28th, The Lan event will feature another $1m prize pool, along with 26,640 EPT Points. Qualification for the tournament will happen via Open and Closed Qualifiers on FACEIT from January 22th until January 30th. The location for the tournament is yet to be confirmed.
In May, Dota 2 will be back online with DreamLeague Season 23 before the Showdown international event takes place in July. More details about the tournament and the location will be announced at a later date, however, the event will feature the highest-placed teams on the EPT Leaderboard.
“We’re delighted to introduce the 2024 ESL Pro Tour programme for Dota 2, setting the stage for an extraordinary year of esports,” commented Shane Clarke, Director Game Ecosystems – Dota 2 at ESL FACEIT Group.
“Next year, we will continue to deliver eye-watering prize pools, electrifying formats, and an unwavering dedication to the Dota 2 community. With our commitment to pushing the boundaries of esports, we’re confident that 2024 will be a year filled with remarkable moments on the Dota 2 stage that fans won’t want to miss.”
Following the Showdown, the third season of the ESL Pro Tour will begin, featuring yet another DreamLeague season and an ESL One competition. The former will take place between October 27th and November 10th while ESL One Asia will take place in December. The reamining tournaments for Season 3 will take place in 2025.
This year Dota 2 saw significant changes to its ecosystem, following the discontinuation of the Dota Pro Circuit by the game publisher Valve after The International took place in October. The upcoming Dota 2 tournament will be the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, taking place from December 11th-17th.
