Dota 2 Lima Major: Everything you need to know

The Lima Major, the first Dota 2 Major of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season, is almost upon us.

This will be the first big international event for Dota 2 this year and will also be the first-ever Major to be hosted in South America. From 22 February to 5 March, 18 of the best-performing teams in the DPC fighting for their cut of the US$500,000 in prize money as well as 1,900 DPC points.

Here's everything you need to know about the Lima Major:

Format

The Lima Major will be split into two stages. The first is the Group Stage, to be held from 22 to 26 February, and the second is the Playoffs, which will be hosted from 28 February to 5 March.

The Lima Major Group Stage will see the 18 participating teams split into two groups of nine teams each. They will then compete in a single round-robin featuring best-of-two matches to determine which teams will advance to the Playoffs.

Six out of the nine teams in each group will earn Playoff spots. The Top 4 teams of each group will advance to the upper bracket while the fifth and sixth-placed teams will have to start from the lower bracket.

Meanwhile, the bottom three teams in each group will be eliminated early.

The Lima Major Playoffs will follow a double-elimination format. All Playoff matches will be a best-of-three except for the Grand Finals, which will be a full best-of-five series.

Teams

The teams competing in the Lima Major are comprised of the best-performing teams from the DPC's six regional leagues in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, Southeast Asia, North America, and South America.

Four teams each will be coming from Western Europe and China, three squads each will be from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, while two representatives each hail from North America and South America.

Western Europe: Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators, Tundra Esports, Entity

Eastern Europe: BetBoom Team, Team Spirit, HellRaisers

China: PSG.LGD, Team Aster, Knights, EHOME

Southeast Asia: Execration, Geek Slate, Talon Esports

North America: TSM, Shopify Rebellion

South America: Beastcoast, Evil Geniuses

For a closer look at all the teams in the Lima Major as well as our predictions for their performances, check here.

Prize pool

The Lima Major will have a prize pool of US$500,000 and 1,900 DPC points.

While the prize money is nothing to scoff at, what the teams are really after are the DPC points, which will go towards securing all-important direct invites to this year's iteration of The International (TI), Dota 2's annual multimillion-dollar world championship tournament.

Only the Top 8 teams in the Lima Major will receive prize money and DPC points.

Here's a breakdown of how much each team can earn for finishing in the Top 8 of the Lima Major:

• Champions: US$200,000 and 400 DPC points

• 2nd place: US$100,000 and 350 DPC points

• 3rd place: US$75,000 and 300 DPC points

• 4th place: US$50,000 and 250 DPC points

• 5th-6th place: US$25,000 and 200 DPC points

• 7th-8th place: US$12,500 and 100 DPC points

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