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The International 10 Has The Biggest Esports Prize Pool Ever At $34 Million
- The prize pool for The International 10 Dota 2 tournament has become the biggest prize pool in esports history after surpassing last year’s total of $34,330,068.
By: Mike Stubbs Contributor
At the time of writing the total prize pool for The International 10 sits at $34,333,874, surpassing last year’s total and officially becoming the biggest prize pool in esports history.
The prize pool for The International 10 has been crowdfunded by the sale of in-game items within Dota 2. 25% of all purchases of The International 10 Battle Pass, Battle Pass Levels, and a number of other cosmetic items is contributed to the prize pool, which allows it to grow to unprecedented levels.
There is still a few weeks left on the crowdfunding drive, so you can expect that number to grow further, with it likely to surpass the $35 million mark before the end of the Battle Pass. The prize pool has been steadily growing over the past few weeks and there is no reason why that would stop now.
The increase over last year has come as a surprise to some, as The International 10 has been postponed into 2021 due to the pandemic. Typically the crowdfunding drive runs during the tournament, which usually gives the total a nice boost in the final days, but this year that was obviously not possible.
Valve posted an update earlier this week that explained that due to the ongoing pandemic the Dota Pro Circuit and The International 10 are currently postponed indefinitely, with no expected date to return. The initial hope was that the Dota Pro Circuit would be able to return as planned this autumn, but with the pandemic still going that is clearly not feasible.
With TI10 postponed indefinitely, there is no telling how this will work with The International 11 and its Battle Pass. Dota 2 fans expect a Battle Pass every summer for The International, but if TI10 does not happen before then there is a chance there may not be a battle pass next year or at least one that adds to the prize pool.
The new record prize pool puts The International 10 at the top of the biggest esports tournaments ever, with the next entries also dominated by The International tournaments from previous years. The Fortnite World Cup is the only real challenger to The International, with $15 million prize pools for both the solo and duos tournaments.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikestubbs/2020/08/26/the-international-10-has-the-biggest-esports-prize-pool-ever-at-34-million/#626d10451299
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