WePlay AniMajor is the next Dota Pro Circuit tournament from WePlay Esports

WePlay Esports Arena Kyiv will host the second Major tournament of the current Dota Pro Circuit season.

WePlay Esports will organize the next Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Major tournament. The event is to take place on June 02–13, 2021, at the WePlay Esports Arena Kyiv. With a prize pool of $500,000 and a significant share of DPC points on the line, the world’s top teams will show their best at the event.

Dota Pro Circuit is an event series organized by Valve to determine the best teams in the season who will go on to participate in The International (TI) — a yearly celebration of Dota 2 with millions of dollars on the line. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TI didn’t happen in 2020 and its prize pool was transferred to the 2021 event. WePlay AniMajor is one of the only two DPC Major events of the current season, which makes the stakes exceptionally high.

“With WePlay AniMajor, our team hopes to create a show that the fans will remember and want to rewatch for many years to come. We plan to give the audience more than just great Dota 2 games — there will also be enough entertainment to keep everyone glued to the screen throughout every minute of the broadcast.

If you want to imagine what WePlay AniMajor will look like, just try to recall the Late Night Show from OMEGA League, or #madmoontruck reveal from WePlay! Mad Moon, or all the memes from WePlay! Bukovel Minor. With the DPC Major event, WePlay Esports is going all out to make it the most viewed Major,” says Maksym Bilonogov, general producer and chief visionary officer at WePlay Esports.
The venue of WePlay AniMajor, WePlay Esports Arena Kyiv, is a transformable arena equipped for world-class esports shows. Following its opening in Q4 2020, it has hosted two esports tournaments and the Ultimate Boxing Night streamed on Twitch, YouTube, DAZN, and other platforms.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine supports WePlay Esports’ commitment to holding the WePlay AniMajor tournament in Ukraine.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, our team has hosted numerous events and is going to use that experience to provide a safe environment for the WePlay AniMajor participants, talent crew, and event staff.

After the popularity of our previous DPC event — WePlay! Bukovel Minor — we see the opportunity to host a Major as a great honor and responsibility. This event will be our biggest challenge yet,” says Oleh Humeniuk, CEO of WePlay Esports.
Overall, 18 teams will participate in WePlay AniMajor, seeded as follows:

Wild Card — 6 teams
Group Stage — 6 teams
Playoffs — 6 teams

WePlay AniMajor kicks off on June 02 with the Wild Card stage where six teams play best of two (Bo2) round-robin series. The top two teams advance to the Group Stage.

In the Group Stage starting June 04, eight teams play each other in Bo2 round-robin series. The top two teams from the Group Stage advance to the Upper Bracket Playoffs. The two teams who win the least points are eliminated. The rest advance to the Lower Bracket Playoffs.

In the playoffs, which start on June 09, all games are best of three, except for the Grand Final, which is best of five.