With the help of Valve player crowdfunding, The International 10 (TI10) has exceeded the $34 million prize pool record held by its predecessor, making it the most rewarding individual tournament in Dota 2 as well as the largest prize pool in the history of any single global esports tournament.

On the table below, we can see that aside from Fornite, the Dota 2 International tournaments are dominating the prize pool records and continue to do so year on year. This is huge for the esports industry as a whole and shows the potential that games have as a mainstream entertainment avenue vs traditional sports.

Top 10 List of Esports Tournaments With the Largest Overall Prize Pools

Battle Pass Player Crowdfunding Contribution

Valve provided a base prize of $1.6 million and the rest of the sum was contributed in the form of micro-transactions from their player base which totals to more than $32.7 million, according to ginx.tv. 25% of all purchases associated with The International Battle Pass has greatly assisted the steady growth of this monstrous prize pool.

To celebrate the TI10 prize pool becoming the largest in the history of esports, Valve awards 10,000 Battle Points to Battle Pass owners, which is equivalent to 10 levels. So if you have a Battle Pass and have contributed to the prize pool this year, Valve has not left you standing empty-handed.

Still No Definitive Dates Set for TI10

Since the initial announcement that TI10 was to be delayed due to COVID-19, there have still been no definitive answers as to when the tournament will take place. Valve recently released a tweet to confirm that they “can’t yet commit to new dates for TI10 and the DPC” due to the unpredictability of the pandemic.

As we wait for any news on the updated schedule, it is predicted that the TI10 prize pool will continue to grow as The International Battle Pass is still open for purchase until 19^th September.