When Team Spirit lifted the Aegis of Champions back in October, they became the first team out of Eastern Europe to do so since Natus Vincere at the original International back in 2011.
Now, Spirit looks to defend their title, while Virtus.pro, Na’Vi, and multiple other teams have retooled and are ready to try and take their own shot at reaching Dota 2’s biggest stage during the 2022 Dota Pro Circuit.
Prize pool and format
The 2022 DPC’s Winter Tour is now underway, with the first stint of competition running until Jan. 23 for 16 teams out of the CIS.
During that time, teams in the upper division will be battling for a spot in the Winter Major, while the lower division teams try to earn a promotion or stave off relegation for the next leg of the 2022 DPC. At the end of the Tour, the bottom two teams from the upper division will be sent to the lower division, the top two teams from the lower division will be promoted to the upper division, and the lowest placing teams from the lower division will be relegated and replaced by two teams from an open qualifier.
Additionally, every league will have a total prize pool of $280,000 per Tour, though the DPC points given out to teams in the upper division and at Majors will scale according to the event schedule this year.
For the Winter Tour, the regional league will give out 300 DPC points for first place, while the third tour will give 500 points for the same placement. That scaling will apply to Majors too, where EEU will have three spots up for grabs in the upper division each Tour.
Teams to watch out for
EEU is a bit of an odd region, as many of the teams are either unproven or trying out new looks that will take some time to get a read on.
Spirit is obviously the early favorite, having retained its entire TI winning roster and preparing to run things back for another year. That leaves the slightly altered VP lineup and Na’Vi’s experienced new core as the next two up on the list of teams to watch.
Thankfully, talent runs deep in the region and AS Monaco Gambit, Team Unique, Team Empire, and HellRaisers all have interesting rosters with a mix of talented young players and veterans that could surprise a lot of fans in the early weeks.
Also, keep an eye on Winstrike Team, HYDRA, and the CIS Rejects in the lower division. Those squads are loaded with potential and are likely going to have an intense battle to see who makes it into the upper division in the next Tour.
With the new season starting, here are all of the standings, scores, and results for the Eastern Europe 2022 DPC Winter Tour Regional League, which will run from Nov. 30 to Jan. 22. You can view a full schedule here.
Standings
Upper division
| Rank | Team name | Series | Games | DPC Points | Seed | Prize |
| 1 | Team Spirit | 0-0 | 0-0 | 300 | Major Playoffs | $30,000 |
| 2 | Virtus.pro | 0-0 | 0-0 | 180 | Major Group Stage | $28,000 |
| 3 | AS Monaco Gambit | 0-0 | 0-0 | 120 | Major Wildcard Stage | $27,000 |
| 4 | Team Unqiue | 0-0 | 0-0 | 60 | $26,000 | |
| 5 | PuckChamp | 0-0 | 0-0 | 30 | $25,000 | |
| 6 | Na’Vi | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | $24,000 | |
| 7 | HellRaisers | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | Demoted to lower division | $23,000 |
| 8 | Team Empire | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | Demoted to lower division | $22,000 |
Lower division
| Rank | Team name | Series | Games | DPC Points | Seed | Prize |
| 1 | Gambit Esports | 1-0 | 2-0 | N/A | Promoted to upper division | $17,000 |
| 2 | Fantastic Five | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | Promoted to upper division | $16,000 |
| 3 | Nemiga Gaming | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | $15,000 | |
| 4 | HYDRA | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | $11,000 | |
| 5 | Winstrike Team | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | $9,000 | |
| 6 | CIS Rejects | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | $7,000 | |
| 7 | V-Gaming | 0-0 | 0-0 | N/A | Relegated | N/A |
| 8 | B8 | 0-1 | 0-2 | N/A | Relegated | N/A |
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