The Dota Pro Circuit has come to an end, and Valve has not yet disclosed any specific plans for 2024. However, ESL has confirmed its intentions to organize another tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a prize pool of $1 million.
ESL surprised the Dota 2 community earlier this month with DreamLeague Season 21, a $1 million prize pool event held just a month before The International 2023. These moves highlight ESL’s determination to establish itself as the leading esports tournament organizer in the Dota 2 scene for the upcoming year.
ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 is scheduled to begin on December 11, which is two months after TI12. In previous Dota 2 seasons, December has traditionally been a time for roster changes. Consequently, this tournament shortens the window available for top Dota 2 teams to make post-TI transfers.
ESL has made it clear that it aims to have a significant presence in the Dota 2 scene with its various tournaments this year, including the Riyadh Masters 2023. Given the uncertainty among fans about Valve‘s plans after the removal of the DPC, ESL’s actions provide a sense of reassurance.
In addition to their substantial prize pools, ESL events have been strategically timed to minimize downtime in the competitive Dota 2 scene between Majors.
Professional players and community members have expressed a longing for the prime days of competitive Dota 2 between 2014 and 2017, when there were more major tournaments worldwide without a league structure.
Two-time TI champion N0tail recently appeared on Gorgc’s Twitch stream, where he stated that the removal of the DPC was “the best thing that happened to Dota since before DPC.”
N0tail, the legendary captain of OG, also mentioned the potential for more events in Europe in 2024. Despite being a highly competitive region and featuring notable organizers like ESL, Europe has faced challenges in hosting LAN events. While the region did host a TI recently, it was without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the DPC and three Major structure has limited event opportunities.