Move over, GSL: Cyberarena presents new Dota 2 leagues Star League and Star Ladder
An exciting new league that will help the growth and sustainability of the Dota 2 scene has arrived. Star Ladder, a new project by Cyberarena, presents two promising professional leagues for Dota 2. The Star League is an exclusive league currently filled with invitees while the Professional League is a qualification entry league allowing winners a chance at the Star League. The initial Professional league will be seeded through Professional League qualifier tournaments.
While the Star Ladder site is scheduled to go live on January 15, 2012, the current site holds a taste of what to expect for Dota 2 in the upcoming year. Four seasons are scheduled to run through 2012, with each season featuring 16 star teams in the Star League and 1000+ teams in the qualifying ladders. Star Ladder looks to stream 120 games each season, with the grand finals for each season taking place at a LAN final in Kiev. In addition to Dota 2, Star Ladder will also feature Counter-Strike, World of Tanks, Point Blank and Bloodline Champions in their first season.
Could this be the GSL of DotA in Europe?
While details are still murky on how Star Ladder will actually run, the leagues can be summed up as a "Dota 2 GSL" based in Europe. With the promise of 480 games casted in a year, four LAN finals casted at the Kiev Cyberarena and the possibility to move up the ladders into the Star League, the Star Ladder represents a major expansion of Dota 2 as an e-sport in Europe, one of DotA's traditional strongholds. The league provides stability for organizations to display their newly acquired teams in a consistent format, for players a chance at competition at the top levels with the multiple ladders to scale, and for viewers a consistent game to tune in and watch every week.
The first season of Star League has announced their first eight invited teams including Ukranian powerhouses Na'Vi, recent Dota 2 Star Championship winners The Retry, and the reformed Moscow 5. The remainder will be announced soon.
Star League
 Natus Vincere |
| eSahara |
 Mousesports |
 Moscow Five |
 Power Rangers |
| The Retry |
 Team Shakira |
 Team Hungary |
| TBA |
| TBA |
| TBA |
| TBA |
| TBA |
| TBA |
| TBA |
| TBA |
Star Ladder: Professional League will have a total of sixteen qualifiers with eight of them will be played on DotA and the rest on Dota 2. This is to allow teams without beta keys a chance to participate. The top two placers of each qualifications will earn a spot in the 32 team league. The winners of Professional League will receive prizes as well as a chance to qualify into the Star League.
The first DotA qualifiers will start on the 17th of December while the Dota 2 qualifiers starts on the 3rd of January. More information on qualification #1 here.
Sources: dota.cyberarena.tv , starladder.tv
