Dota 2 The International is the top tournament in Dota 2 esports, with a massive prize pool to go with it. Top-tier teams compete in the yearly event to be crowned the kings of Dota 2 and proudly hold the Aegis of Champions in front of their fans. The International is known to have millions of viewers from Twitch and ten of thousands of fans that fly to their ever-changing venues. The tournament is also host to what fans call “Cinderella moments,” where unpopular teams subvert bettors and esports predictors’ expectations to crush the Dota 2 TI favorites to win the tournament.

The prize pool is a marvel, with TI10 having the largest prize pool in the world. The event’s prize pool for the 2021 iteration was $40 million, a huge amount compared to other tournaments that don’t even reach the $3 million mark.  Here, we will see how the prize pools have developed since the first The International event, find out what the source of these prize pools is and what the expected prize pool for TI11 is.

History of the Dota 2 TI prize pool

Dota 2 TI’s prize pools were not always this large. The first TI that CIS juggernaut, Natus Vincere, won was $1.6 million. The prize pool remained low for all the following TIs until TI4, where the Dota 2 TI prize pool shot up substantially to $10.9 million. It eventually reached $40 million in the last Dota 2 TI in 2021.

Event	Year	Prize Pool
The International 1	2011	$1.6 million
The International 2	2012	$1.6 million
The International 3	2013	$2.8 million
The International 4	2014	$10.9 million
The International 5	2015	$18.4 million
The International 6	2016	$20.7 million
The International 7	2017	$24.7 million
The International 8	2018	$25.5 million
The International 9	2019	$34.3 million
The International 10	2021	$40 million
The International 11	2022	$13.6 million (TBD)

What is the source of Dota 2’s The International prize pool?

A good prize pool is critical to organizing an esports tournament, and the Dota 2 TI winners won’t miss out! Without an attractive prize pool, the competition may not be as fierce or, potentially, as interesting! . Less interesting matches can then lead to a declining fanbase.

Dota 2 TI’s prize pool keeps the competition hot, giving high stakes for teams to fight over. The source of Dota 2 The International’s prize pool also corresponds to how high it has gotten. 

Before it shot up, the base prize pool was $1.6 million. Valve then introduced a new system that allowed fans to invest in the Dota 2 The International prize pool. When Dota 2 players purchase the battle pass, a percentage of the total battle pass funds goes to the prize pool. The fanbase has continuously bought the battle pass, so the prize pool has been rising steadily through the years.

The addition of crowdfunding and other tactics by Valve has helped to boost Dota 2 The International’s prize pool exponentially. Crowdfunding has also led to fans having a strong resolve to contribute to the prize pool to keep Dota 2 TI the biggest tournament in esports. Valve also sells special cosmetics and in-game features that contribute to the tournament when bought. 

How big will Dota TI11 prize pool be?

With last year’s prize pool being the largest prize pool in esports to date, Dota 2 TI 2022 has a considerable gap to fill to be better than last year. However, according to stats, the Dota 2 fanbase has been steadily dropping lately. This is due to some of the fans not getting the experience they wanted at events or online, like the cosmetics in the battle pass.

So far, more than $13 million has been allocated toward the prize pool, up from the base prize pool of $1.6 million. Although players expect it to rise before the tournament begins, it could end up being a far cry from the last Dota 2 The International prize pool.

Dota 2 TI teams are some of the largest teams in the world and require funding from winnings to keep running. The prize pool might be smaller, but this will certainly not deter the performance of teams and the energy surrounding The International event.

The Dota 2 TI 11 winners will be looking forward to the tournament, whether the prize pool surpasses last year or not. There will be clashes and exceptional play among the world’s greatest Dota 2 TI teams, as players are not backing down even if PSG.LGD is currently the Dota 2 TI 11 favorite to carry the Aegis shield this year.