Dota 2 prize pool international chart. How the International prize fund is filled. What is Battle Pass

After the end of Epicenter Moscow 2017, the total prize fund of all official eSports tournaments exceeded $100 million. It took six years to overcome this mark. Despite the fact that Valve gave a strong start to the gaming discipline with a stunning prize pool of $1.6 million by the standards of 2011, the reward at regular major international tournaments remained in the range from $10 thousand to $20 thousand for more than a year. Only in November 2012, as part of the fourth season of the G-1 Champions league, held in Fuzhou, China, the $50 thousand bar was conquered. And already on the eve of The International 2013, the first “hundred thousandth” took place in Shanghai - Perfect World's Super League played between participants $170 thousand

Who earns how much in Dota 2. The long-awaited test about money

The total prize fund of all Dota 2 tournaments will soon break the $100 million mark. Do you know whose pockets these funds ended up in?

The entire Dota community was surprised by the announcement of the first season of the Nexon Sponsorship League in Seoul in 2013. At that time, no one knew anything about the Korean teams and players, and the organizers announced a draw of more than $100 thousand. It is worth understanding that at that time such money was not raffled off almost anywhere. Therefore, the first legionnaire, Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho, went to South Korea for the second season, and the whole Team Zephyr team went to the third season.

For the first time in the West, $100 thousand was played out as part of the MLG Championship Columbus at the end of 2013 - the same tournament thanks to which Arthur “Arteezy” Babaev became famous throughout the world. In small steps, but at a steady pace, the prize funds of international competitions set new records every six months or a year, and this moment Several tournaments have already been held without Valve's support, the total prize pool of which exceeded $500 thousand and even $1 million.

Distribution of tournament funds by year; the figure for 2017 is as of June 12 and continues to grow.

As can be seen in the diagram, positive dynamics remain from year to year, but the situation may still change this year. Before the start of The International 2016, the total prize fund of all tournaments for the first half of the year was $9.95 million, while during the same period this year just over $7 million was awarded. Of course, there are several more tournaments ahead of us that will add to the standings several hundred thousand dollars, but it will not be possible to reduce such a significant handicap before the start of the World Championship in Seattle. In fact, the difference is precisely in the reduced number of majors: in 2016, by the summer, tournaments had already taken place in Shanghai and Manila, while in 2017 - only in Kyiv. But if the prize The fund International 2017 will set a new record, everything can fall into place.

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Of the $100.3 million in prize money, the majority was contributed by the Dota community - $52.6 million, or 52.45%. It’s just that from the moment Valve started holding majors, the organizers of other tournaments forgot about making money directly, that is, through the sale of in-game tickets, compendiums or items, since seasonal battle passes from the developers supplanted everyone. Now the main source of income for tournaments is direct income from broadcasts and contracts with advertisers. For this reason, tournaments involving teams of the second and third tier are currently experiencing difficult times.

It is no less interesting to find out who grabbed the biggest pieces of the 100 million pie. Two bronzes and one gold at The International, a victory at DAC 2015, as well as successful performances at majors and other large tournaments allowed the “Evil Geniuses” to get far ahead of their closest pursuers. The top three also included the Chinese owners of champion Aegis - Wings and Newbee. Four-time major winners OG took fourth place. The top ten is closed by the only representative of the CIS in this list - Natus Vincere with an indicator of $3.65 million. In total, 21 teams earned more than a million dollars in Dota, including Virtus.pro ($2.7 million) and Team Empire ($1 million).

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As for personalities, the richest eSports player in the world is Evil Geniuses hard laner Saahil “UNiVeRSe” Arora. His pocket was replenished with prize money in the amount of $2.82 million. Following them in the top ten moneybags were the players of the champion squads EG and Wings, who earned the lion's share of their fortune by winning the World Championship. Among the leaders of the list, it is worth highlighting Gustav “s4” Magnusson ($1.4 million) and Clement “Puppey” Ivanov ($1.37 million), who occupy 13th and 15th places, respectively. Unlike the others, they collected their fortune bit by bit, because none of their victories in tournaments brought them more than $300 thousand. By the way, the captain of Team Secret was the first to earn $1 million in Dota in this way.

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It is also worth paying attention to the fact that almost 40% of all money went to players from the Middle Kingdom, who are represented by the largest number in. The top three leaders by nationality also include representatives of the USA and Sweden. Ukrainian and Russian players together earned just over $8 million. It is noteworthy that Pakistan closes the top ten, represented by only one player - Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan. Alone, the young talent managed to surpass the achievements of a dozen representatives from Singapore, Germany and even the Philippines.

There are more people wanting to invest in eSports every day, so the $100 million mark for the total prize fund of all tournaments is just the beginning. The main thing is that the quality of the championships themselves should grow in proportion to new material achievements. At the moment, many spectators are complaining about the overabundance of competitions with the participation of the strongest teams in the world, while it is difficult for organizers of tournaments for middle-tier teams to function without crowdfunding. Resolving these issues is one of the most important tasks that Valve will have to solve in the near future.

Group stage of the main eSports tournament in Dota 2 starts tomorrow - August 2. But even before it began, The International 2017 managed to set a record - the largest prize pool in the history of the event. At the time of writing, it is $23,207,133. The team that takes first place will receive at least $10 million. And this is not the maximum: the exact size of the prize fund will be known only at the end of TI - August 12. This means that it can become larger by several million dollars. Especially for the site, the StarLadder team has prepared material about what the International prize pool was like at the beginning and how it is formed now.

Dota 2 is an eSports discipline that for many players has long ceased to be just a “game.” Starting with a custom modification for Warcraft III , it reached its peak in the form of Defense of the Ancients, with regular tournaments and prize money large enough for 2011. The discipline's record prize money is $45,905 at ACE Dota Pro-league 2012 Season 1.

All this was just the beginning of a big story. In 2011, Valve took Dota beyond computer clubs by announcing The International 2011. The tournament was held at the GamesCom 2011 exhibition in Cologne - at the same time a completely new Dota 2. The prize fund exceeded any reasonable limits - $1.6 million No one then could believe that this was true. But it’s even harder to believe that now this amount is dripping into the “prize box” every week.

How does this happen?

Every year since 2013, a special item in the game - previously it was the “Compendium”, now it is the “Battle Pass”. Its owners receive in-game items and rewards, and the developers keep 75% of the profits. The remaining 25% goes to the general prize fund of The International. Additional amounts come from sales of Battle Pass tiers and treasure chests with exclusive items.

The developers have not changed their contribution to the prize fund since 2011 - it is stable at $1.6 million. The increase is due to the efforts of the players, because the required level is growing " Battle Pass» to receive all rewards. So in 2014 it was 500, in 2015 - 1000, and in 2016 and 2017 - the 2500th level, to obtain which the owner will have to pay up to $919 from his wallet.

Because no maximum level, there is no donation limit. So, a player with the nickname Archangel Yuji last year increased his battle pass to level 55,000, and this year he did not limit himself to 100,000, spending about $45,000 on the latter.

This year, on the first day of sales alone, the prize pool increased by $3 million. In 87 days since the release of the TI7 Battle Pass, it amounted to more than $23 million, which is $2,557,489 (11.92%) more than the record amount in the history of esports. The record is $20.7 million and also belongs to Dota 2, but TI 2016.

While the prize fund is increasing before everyone’s eyes, Valve’s income is also increasing proportionally, although it remains behind the scenes. Thus, the net profit from Compendium in 2013 brought the company a little more than 3 million, and in 2016 it already exceeded 50 million!

Never before has the winning team of an eSports tournament taken home more than $10 million in prize money.

These sizes are not comparable to the prize fund of the World Cup, but the winners' earnings already exceed the prize money of the Tour de France, the World Series of Poker and the world golf tournament. What can we say about other eSports disciplines? The only competitor Dota 2 became in the top 5 League of Legends. In 2016, Riot games adopted the model of increasing the prize pool from in-game sales and increased the prize pool of the main tournament to just over $5 million. Previously, it was $2,130,000 and has not changed since 2014.

The difference in payments is noticed in other disciplines. Esports analyst and journalist, Duncan "Thorin" Shields, tweeted:

1st place at TI7 is $10,000,000 right now.

The combined prize purses of all 11 CS:GO majors is $5,750,000.

First place at TI7 is now $10 million. The total prize fund of all 11 CS:GO majors is $5,750,000.

Due to the ever-increasing prize money, eSports is receiving increased attention: not only spectators, but also sponsors. Sections dedicated to “electronic” sports are appearing on large sports grounds; at the legislative level in many countries, video games are recognized as sports disciplines.

For The International, Valve came up with and implemented the largest crowdfunding campaign in gaming history. It not only minimizes the costs of organizing a tournament, but also creates resonance among the gaming community. But in order for this system to last from year to year, developers need to escalate the situation by increasing the amounts.

In 2011, Na`Vi received $1 million in prize money for first place. Now the same amount is given to those who take 5th and 6th place in the tournament.

Last year, Valve set a direct goal for the community: if the prize pool of The International 2016 is greater than the prize pool of The International 2015 - which is $18,429,613 - all owners of the battle pass will receive Trust of the Benefactor 2016 - a treasure trove of in-game goodies: from Immortals to a unique golden set of items for the hero.

This year, to maintain momentum, we had to raise the bar to the rarity of the Arcana - the most expensive and rare item in the store, which cannot be obtained at the end of the tournament.

To increase the prize pool and reward the winner with a round sum of $10 million, 8 days before the start of the group stage, Valve added additional rewards for reaching level 2000 of the Battle Pass: an exclusive Roshan model.

Like the aegis, the player will receive a “living” copy of the in-game item, measuring 8.5x9cm, and a unique in-game skin of Roshan himself, which, like the Aegis effect, expires on May 1, 2018.

But, despite the growing numbers, the prize fund of The International does not increase so rapidly with each subsequent tournament. Perhaps $23 million in prize money is the level at which the tournament will be fixed until the developers find another way to encourage players to spend additional money.

The International 2018 is the annual Dota 2 championship that closes the season. The championship does this not only with invariable a huge amount spectators, but also with the largest prize fund. Yes, Epic Games' $100M investment in Fortnite was big news, but The International 2018 Dota 2 still has the largest money pool for a single esports event.

The International's prize fund has grown since 2011. Even then the championship could boast a large prize money of $1.6 million. In 2017, the figure reached a new peak of $24,787,916. Yes, that's almost $25 million for one tournament. Last year's winners - Team Liquid, - take home the preferential prize money of $10.8 million. With this incredible event, Valve literally turned The International 2018 Dota 2 upside down.

And yet the question remains: where does all this money come from?

What is the prize fund?

The International's prize fund is the total amount of money awarded to all (18 participants annually) competing teams at the event. The winning team receives approximately 47% of the total pool. Second place receives more than 17% of the remaining amount.

Where does the money come from?

Valve is offering an initial price of $1.6 million. This is a good price for a major eSports tournament. This number is gradually growing thanks to the people who watch The International 2018 every year: Dota 2 players. For many, this has already become considered a tradition.

The starting amount of $1.6 million is growing thanks to sales of the built-in Battle Pass. This is a digital compilation that Valve releases approximately three months before the start of each TI.

Valve takes 25% of Battle Pass sales and invests them in the prize pool of The International 2018. Thus, additional millions of dollars go to professional teams as rewards. This really increases the interest among players and spectators.

What is a Battle Pass?

This is a particularly clever way of creating hype for The International. Valve is providing Dota 2 fans with many, many rewards. This year the Battle Pass sells for $9.99. The collection opens bonus game modes, treasures in the game, new music and cursor packs. Plus digital game card packs that allow fans to collect and build their own fantasy Dota teams 2.

This is a whole bunch of digital goodies for dedicated Dota 2 gamers. As Battle Pass owners play matches, they earn points and level them up. Thus, more and more items and benefits are unlocked.

It's not that hard to imagine Valve raising over $20 million. And remember, this is only a quarter of the total Battle Pass revenue. The rest, of course, goes straight to Valve.

What will the prize fund be in 2018?

Unknown. As of this writing, the prize pool is $24,461,257. This is down 2% from last year's total. It is likely that the numbers will rise further. Depending on what the final price is, the winning team will receive approximately $11-12M. If not more.

If the total prize pool for 2018 exceeds last year's, each Battle Pass holder will receive 10,000 bonus points. But if the figure reaches $30 million, players will receive another 10,000 bonus battle points. Valve encourages gamers in every possible way.

Battle Pass revenue collection continues until the end last day The International. There is still a lot of time until August 25, and the amount is likely to increase.

How does the prize fund grow?

Valve invests $1.6 million each season. In 2011 and 2012, this was the entire prize fund. With the addition of the Battle Pass in 2013, prize money increased to $2,874,381.

The Battle Pass became responsible for providing the lion's share of the prize pool. In 2014, the amount reached $18,429,613. In 2015 - $20,770,460. In 2017 - already $24,787,916.

Since 2011, the number of teams has grown from 8 to 18. But along with this, the share of winners has also increased: if in 2011, each player received from $200,000, then in 2017 this figure reached $2,000,000.

Advantages and disadvantages

The astronomical sum of The International 2018 Dota 2 is creating a lot of hype around the event. A starting prize pool of $2 million is considered impressive for the vast majority of eSports competitions. Only 20 tournaments in history could boast such a sum. As mentioned earlier, in The International, each player on the winning team gets a share of up to $2 million.

The Battle Pass really attracts Dota 2 fans. It encourages them to continue playing Dota 2 and creates a lot of excitement around the championship. Players are literally responsible for the future fate of the prize fund.

What then is the main disadvantage? The biggest downside is that the tournament's huge prize pool makes other Dota 2 championships seem insignificant. Also, this could lead to a decrease in the salaries of esports players. Players compete where there is a greater chance of earning money - at The International. This leads to instability of the roster and adversely affects the overall ecosystem of tournaments in the discipline.

Behind Last year Valve has taken a lot of steps to develop the Dota 2 ecosystem. However, given how much buzz the prize pool creates around The International - and how much revenue it generates for the company - it's hard to believe that this system will change dramatically anytime soon.