Valve released the Dota 2 2020 Battle Pass on May 25 and it offered quite a lot when compared to previous ones. Now, two months later, the prize pool for The International managed to surpass the $30 million mark.
We've been following the growth of the prize pool for quite some time, much like Valve. The company's own investment stands at "only" $1,600,000 while everything else is coming from the fans. The community is helping Valve fuel the prize pool through sales in the Battle Pass, the various treasures and levels. In fact, 25% of all sales go directly into the prize pool, which basically means that Valve have made quite the fortune already. The Battle Pass is accompanied by a level system. You will receive rewards for milestones. The required levels can be bought of course:
- The standard Battle Pass costs 9,99€.
- The Battle Pass with 50 levels costs 29,99€.
- The Battle Pass with 100 levels costs 44,99€.
So what's the incentive to buy levels? Getting some exclusive skins that won't be available after the end (September 19) of the 2020 Battle Pass. This year's Battle Pass offers three personas and two arcanas, along with an announcer pack, a terrain and much more. It seems that Valve have carefully planned the release of each visual in order to have consistent jumps in the prize pool.
- READ MORE: How Good Is the Dota 2 Anti-Mage Persona?
The biggest prize pool in Dota 2 and esports history was the one at the previous edition - The International 9. The record there stood at $34,330,068.
$30 Million - The International 10 now has the second largest prize pool for any single tournament in the history of esports headed for the top spot currently held by TI9. #TI10 #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/Cc9hQCXXuE
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) July 27, 2020
In the early morning hours of July 27, the prize pool for The International 10 reached $30 million and continues to grow as you read this. Although the growth of the prize money has slowed down a bit, Valve is well on the way to rewrite esports history again.
The TI 9's prize pool was a whopping $34.3 million. However, since the Dota 2 Battle Pass 2020 is still available until September 19, we are sure that TI 10 will easily outshine it. If this year's prize pool exceeds the TI9 number, Battle Pass holders will receive 10,000 Battle Points (10 levels). If the prize pool breaks the $40 million milestone (which is definitely possible), Battle Pass holders will receive an additional 10,000 Battle Points (10 levels).
Valve have received criticism over the years for stacking up all their eggs in one basket. Truly, The International is THE EVENT of the year for Dota 2 and whoever wins it will be rewarded generously. OG managed to get the title twice in a row, once in 2018 and once in 2019. No other team has managed to win the event twice. Whether they'll go for a third trophy remains to be seen. There's another big uncertainty though. When and where will TI10 actually take place? The tournament was initially planned for late August in Sweden but got postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent leak that Valve are planning to hold TI11 in 2022, we're lead to believe that TI10 will be happening in 2021 and not this year.
Stay tuned for more Dota 2 news and make sure to check out EarlyGame for everything gaming and esports.
