The International 10 smashes records as the largest esports prize pool

The International 10, popularly known as TI10, just now shattered previous records and surpassed the TI9 prize pool, according to Dota 2 Prize Tracker. As the biggest competitive event for Dota 2 esports, this also makes it the largest prize pool in esports.

This achievement comes alongside the sale of exclusive Collector’s Cache II sets and the Toy Butcher update. Currently, the TI10 prize pool is over $34.3 million USD, the total reached last year for TI9. Valve sets the bar once again and shows how much growth esports found so far.

For the past nine years, August has been a time of excitement for the entire Dota2 community.
During the next six days, let's remember some of its best moments together. #TIMoments pic.twitter.com/Bi1JB6tG60

— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) August 25, 2020

The International 10 Prize Pool

With COVID-19 hampering the majority of esports events and postponement of others, TI10 was indefinitely postponed. When Valve released the TI10 Battle Pass, fans grew excited about the new content. Even with the event delayed, players could contribute to the TI10 prize pool through battle pass purchases.

But the release of the TI10 Battle Pass has been a welcome relief to many. Not to mention, the developers constantly show love towards the community and flooded BP owners with numerous exclusive items and cosmetics. The prominent cosmetics are the female Anti-Mage persona, the Pudge persona, and the arcanas of Wraith King, Queen of Pain, and Windranger. Even with these successes, more items like Immortal Treasure 3 and Trove Carafe will still release.

Dota 2 esports TI10 prize pool makes esports history.

Image credit to Valve.

TI9 in History

In the previous iteration, TI9 surpassed the TI8 prize pool with a huge $34,330,068. Thanks to the Steam Summer Sale and weekend level bundle full of levels and immortal treasures, TI easily made esports history.

Held in Shanghai, this event’s popularity also came from the release of two new heroes in Dota 2. Namely, Snapfire and Void Spirit, which increased player activity. Some of the popular cosmetics from TI9 Battle Pass included the Invoker persona, the Axe persona, and the Earthshaker arcana alongside Tiny’s prestige items.

Although there won’t be any physical event in the near future, The International 10 looks promising. It will be exciting to see if fans can surpass the $40 million mark for the TI10 prize pool, especially since more content needs to be released. With a new record in the largest esports prize pool, TI10 will grow even further.

Written by Chandan Padhi