The Dota Pro Circuit 2023 (DPC 2023) roster lock marks the end of the long hiatus since the International 11 (TI11) concluded. While the Division 1 and 2 leagues are set for early January 2023, the Open Qualifiers quietly kicked off across six regions from December 11-18.

What’s exciting in this DPC 2023 OQ is the abundance of new teams, far from the typical staples we expect in DPC 2023. For instance, the remnants of former team OG squad came out of retirement to compete in DPC 2023.

DPC 2023 Open and Closed Qualifier Schedule

Division 2 is the main event of the DPC 2023 Open and Closed Qualifiers. Particularly, OQ participants have to place top two in one of the four Open Qualifier rounds to qualify for Closed Qualifier. The eight victors in Closed Qualifiers will have to compete for the top two seeds to earn their Division 2 slots.

As such, the open qualifier participants have a tight schedule ahead of their DPC 2023 journey:

• Open Qualifier #1 (Dec 11-12, 2022)
• Open Qualifier #2 (Dec 13-14, 2022)
• Qualifier #3 (Dec 15-16, 2022)
• Qualifier #4 (Dec 17-18, 2022)
• Closed Qualifier (Dec 19-22, 2022)
• DPC 2023 Division 2 (Jan 30, 2023)

That’s the overall lifecycle of any aspiring OQ team that manages to make it into Division 2. Top two seeds of Division 2 league will earn a promotion to Division 1 league at the DPC Tour 2.

Old G makes a comeback into the European scene

Not to be confused with the young and wild team OG, the Old G is comprised of veteran players , which many fans have crowned as the greatest in Dota 2 history. They are no other than the founding players of team OG, Topson, Ceb, and N0tail.

Whereas two other players make up Old G, Volodymyr “Noone” Minenko and Arif “MSS” Anwar. With this formation, Old G is the most-anticipated team of DPC 2023 going into their first DPC Tour since their retirement in 2019. Hence, given their reputation and achievements, this is one team that many fans expect to win the Division 2 Western European bracket, let alone qualify for closed qualifier.

That said, the seasoned players of Old G are by no means unstoppable and are likely rusty. Nevertheless, Old G will surely be a lively candidate in WEU scene to watch as they infamously taunt the opponents.

If there’s one opponent that can give Old G a run for their money, it’s Monaspa. The org signed the team Brame line-up, which consists of the only Greek roster in competitive Dota 2. Giorgos “SsaSpartan” Giannakopoulos, albeit isn’t in his best form, is still a seasoned captain.

Powerhouses in the North American Region

The NA scene received a massive setback after many key powerhouses left the scene for its South American counterpart. Particularly, Evil Geniuses left for SA region, but even Soniqs disbanded the Quincy Crew roster within four months. However, Shopify Rebellion entered the scene featuring Arteezy, Abed, SabeRLight-, Cr1t- and Fly, sliding right back where the former EG roster left off.

Additionally,  while depressing to watch NA lose their key representatives, it’s great that teams like Arkosh Gaming have NA on their back. Arkosh Gaming revamped its subpar roster to a stack of high-profile players. It also marks the end of retirement for Max “qojqva” Bröcker, who will be at the forefront as mid-player. Other notable players include Steve “Xcalibur” Ye and Kim “Febby” Yong-min, who are fine additions to the Arkosh Gaming squad.

China’s Prodigy Galore

Meanwhile, there is no shortage of prominent players at DPC China Open Qualifier. Ybb Gaming, iG.Vitality, Outsiders from CN, and another Chinese-characterized team already qualify for closed qualifiers.

What makes these teams impressive is that they are essentially formations of seasoned players from various team origins. These are strong candidates to qualify for DPC China Division 2, considering they have been staples in China’s Dota 2 league system.

Additionally, there’s also a new team led by the legendary Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei himself with four zero-record players. While we aren’t certain whether the Team Aster co-founder is merely competing for fun, but having a reliable opponent in the open qualifier does make China’s OQ more competitive.

Southeast Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe all have their emerging teams, comprised of familiar players. However, they are mostly new teams with one or two experienced players to lead them, so we won’t call them a threat for Division 2 yet.

Regardless, it’s the calm before the storm at DPC 2023 as we anticipate strong teams to make their debut in Division 2 bracket. Until then, catch these notable teams in action at the DPC 2023 Open Qualifiers.