Weekly esports guide (18 - 25 January): M2, 2021 DPC get underway
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This might be the biggest week for esports this year so far, as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang will be crowning a new world champion at the M2 World Championship while the Dota Pro Circuit has finally kicked off.
Do note that the status of some events may have changed after publishing because of the coronavirus.
Mobile Legends M2 World Championship
Date: 18 - 24 January
Venue: Singapore
The second Mobile Legends highlight event will be taking place in Singapore behind closed-doors at the Shangri-La Singapore! With teams from across the globe competing, it will be the first major esports event of the year in the country. A prize pool of US$300,000 and the bragging rights for being the best MLBB team in the world await the team that reaches the top.
2021 Dota Pro Circuit
Date: 18 January - 14 March
Venue: Online
After its 2020 season was cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic, the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) will finally be returning in 2021 with a new regional league system. Under the new system, the DPC will be split into six regional leagues in North America, South America, Europe, the CIS, China, and Southeast Asia, with each league having 16 participating teams split equally in an Upper and Lower Division.
Aside from introducing the regional league system, the new DPC format will also split the circuit into two seasons, with each concluding with a Major event featuring the best teams from each region, all leading up to The International 10 in August.
The DPC is set to begin on 18 January, with the regional leagues for North America, South America, Europe, CIS, and Southeast Asia running until 28 February. Meanwhile, the Chinese regional league will run until 14 March as it will be having a break in the middle of the season to accommodate the Chinese New Year on 12 February.
LPL Spring 2021
Date: 9 January - 18 April
Venue: Shanghai, China
League of Legends (LoL) esports is on again, as the game’s competitive circuit in China has already kicked off the Spring split of its 2021 season. LPL Spring 2021 begins with its single round robin group stage, from 9 January to 28 March, to determine the seeding for its 17 participating teams in the playoffs, which is set for 1-18 April.
LPL Spring 2021 will have a CN¥4,200,000 (around US$650,000) prize pool, with the winner of the split taking the lion’s share of CN¥2,000,000 (over US$300,000) as well as a spot in this year’s Mid Season Invitational.
LCK Spring 2021
Date: 13 January - 28 March
Venue: Seoul, South Korea
LoL’s competitive circuit in South Korea will be the game’s second major esports league to kick off this year. The LCK’s Spring Split will run from 13 January to 28 March, starting with a double round robin group stage to determine the six out of the league’s 10 participating teams will make it to the playoffs.
LCK Spring 2021 will have a KR₩4,000,000,000 (over US$3,600,000) prize pool, with the winner of the split taking the lion’s share of KR₩2,000,000 (over US$180,000) as well as a spot in this year’s Mid Season Invitational.
LEC Spring 2021
Date: 22 January - TBD
Venue: Berlin, Germany
LoL’s competitive circuit in Europe will be the game’s third major esports league to commence its 2021 season. The LEC’s Spring Split will begin on 22 January, though the full schedule for the split has yet to be determined. The competition will begin with a double round robin group stage to determine the six teams out of the 10 in the league will make it to the playoffs.
LEC Spring 2021 will have a EU€200,000 (over US$240,000) prize pool, with the winner of the split taking the lion’s share of EU€80,000 (over US$96,000) as well as a spot in this year’s Mid Season Invitational.
LCS Lock-In 2021
Date: 15 - 31 January
Venue: Los Angeles, USA
While the 2021 LCS season proper won’t begin until February, the action in the LoL competitive circuit in North America is already underway as it is currently holding its inaugural Lock-In tournament from 15-31 January. The event will give the 10 teams in the LCS to showcase their skills ahead of the start of the season, with the top team earning a US$150,000 prize, of which US$50,000 will be donated to a charity of their choice.
Cyber Games Arena Valorant Pacific Open+
Date: 14 - 26 January
Venue: Online
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/CyberGamesArena
One of the first Valorant events of the new year in Southeast Asia, the Cyber Games Arena Pacific Open+ gathers 16 of the best teams in the region to compete for their cut of a US$15,000 prize pool.
Two teams will be directly invited to the event, with the rest of the participating teams having to go through qualifiers for each country in the region. The Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan will each have two representatives in the event.
Malaysia Esports Championship
Date: December 2020 - January 2021
Venue: TBD
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/esportsintegrated
Local Malaysian initiative Esports Integrated, under the purview of the country’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, has launched the Malaysia Esports Championship to help foster the esports scene in Malaysia. The event will have a RM100,000 (just over US$24,000) split across four titles, namely: Dota 2, MLBB, PUBG Mobile, and FIFA 21.
The event will be split across three weeks of competition, with Week 1 taking place from 21-26 December, Week 2 from 28 December to 2 January next year, and Week 3 from 4-9 January. Weeks 1 and 2 will be dedicated for MLBB, PUBG Mobile, and FIFA 21, while Week 3 is solely dedicated to Dota 2.
Meta.us Philippines Dota 2 Leagues
Date: Every Thursday and Friday, August 2020 to January 2021
Time: 8pm (GMT +8)
Stream: www.facebook.com/metamaster
Filipino Dota 2 players of all skills levels, there's a special league just for you! JBL has teamed up with esports platform meta.us to create a weekly Dota 2 league running for a grand total of 6 months all the way to January 2021.
Players can register weekly for their Open series to play in a 32-team single elimination competition happening every Thursday and Friday at 8pm (GMT +8).
This league features a ranking system which will promote teams that place high consistently in the Opens into Junior and later Senior series. Not playing but want to catch the newest Filipino Dota 2 teams in action? Tune in at www.facebook.com/metamaster during competition time to watch the livestream casted by Lupon WxC!
PUBG Mobile Global Championship Season 0 (Worldwide)
Date: 24 November - January
Venue: Online and offline
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/PUBGMOBILEESPORTS
The PUBG Corporation and Tencent Games are hosting the yearly global championships featuring the best teams from all over the world. It also features a prize pool of US$2 million.
The Southeast Asian teams who are qualified include:
Aerowolf LIMAX
Secret JIN
RRQ Athena
POWER888 KPS
Team Secret
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