Dota 2 Transfers

Roster Changes in Dota 2 eSports: What to Know

Player transfers in Dota 2 eSports are following a pretty strict schedule. The roster shuffle precedes the start of the next season and it begins when the team is no longer participating in this year’s International tournament either failing to qualify or upon in-game elimination.

Roster lock is essentially a deadline for Dota 2 roster changes: this is the final day for a team to announce the roster for the future season. By this time, the team and its management need to form a list of players who will represent them in the upcoming playing year. If the team fails to do this in time, each change brings a penalty that hits its DPC score and can even lead to disqualification.

For the 2022-2023 season, all the Dota 2 transfers should end before December 9. We remind you that The International 11 ended on October 30 with a victory by Tundra Esports. That roughly gives the teams one and a half months to try and find a new formula for perfection.

The Primary Goal of Dota 2 Transfers: The Best Players for Team Profits!

The main goal that Dota 2 player transfers pursue is to build a stronger team that will show good results during the next DPC season. DPC stands for Dota Pro Circuit which is a competition where the players fight for points allowing them to qualify for The International — the main event in Dota 2 eSports discipline which brings its winner both prestige and a large prize pool.

How Much Can Dota 2 Player Transfers in Top Teams Cost?

According to research by Forbes revealed in 2020, the average contract price for a good player in the world market is about $75,000. But a Dota 2 transfer of a superstar can cost a team up to $150,000. Since then, the prices haven’t changed greatly, as it seems. For example, in October team Virtus.pro shared some insights regarding current pricing for Dota 2 player transfer putting it in the range from $100,000 to $120,000 unless there is a situation that requires a particular approach.

However, the data provided by Forbes mostly touched the Western market. The experts of the Chinese eSports sphere claim that Dota transfer fees for professionals are much higher there.

The 3 Most Expensive Dota 2 Transfers

Let us have a glimpse of the three Dota transfers that have cost the most for the buying team.

1. Chen “Hao” Zhihao from Newbee left for ViciGaming in 2015. It was officially announced that the transfer cost was 1 Million RMB ($140,000 at the time). Hao, a carrier known to be one of the most aggressive players in the scene, has shown good results in Dota 2 Champions League Season 5, The Summit 3, and i-League Season 3.
2. Zhang “xiao8” Ning, a retired Chinese professional who is currently coaching PSG.LGD, and BurNIng, a co-owner of Team Aster, revealed once on the stream, that a buyout for Ame, a former LGD Gaming player, was almost $3 million. Ame has left the International 2021 minute with the fewest average deaths (1.00), but it is not his only achievement, gaining 3rd and 2nd places in Tier 1 of The International in 2019 and 2018.
3. Not to mention xiao8 himself: his transfer fee to LGD Gaming in 2015 was 2 Million RMB ($280,000).

How Often Do Dota 2 Rosters Change?

All transfers usually end before roster lock, as there is a rare team willing to sacrifice their DPC score to have a change. But for the teams not in the yearly TI tournament, the off-season begins earlier. When tracking transfers, one can see that they happen almost every month: solo players get into teams, teams part ways with players, and players transfer from one collective to another.