The International’s prize pool has reached $10 million. But is it good enough?

One week after the release of the Battle Pass for The International 11, the prize pool of the tournament climbed from the default $1.6 to more than $10 million.

The Dota 2 community has contributed generously to the initial amount by purchasing the Battle Pass. Based on Valve’s rules, 25% of the BP money goes towards the prize pool. The question that we need to ask ourselves is this: how does the $10 million at this stage compare to the previous TI prizes?

Previous years

The absolute record for The International prize pool is held by The International 2021, which offered no less than $40 million. However, that was partly the result of the cancellation of the 2020 edition.

With only seven weeks left until the end of The International 2022, the $10 million prize pool looks modest by comparison. And it’s pretty clear that it won’t go above $25 million, unless Valve does something to pump it up.

Most of the purchases are made in the first week after the Battle Pass release. That’s when people start playing the game a lot more with their friends and race toward the high levels that let them get the arcanas.

After the first week, the prize pool of The International begins to grow at a much slower pace. Valve could do something about it by incentivizing people to buy more levels. The only problem is that this year, part of the Dota 2 community has felt like the company got a bit greedy.

The Issue with the Battle Pass for TI11

Unlike previous years, when players received the entire Battle Pass at once, this year they only got one part, with the second part being scheduled for November, after The International ends.

But here’s the trick: only the sales of the first part of the Battle Pass contribute to the prize pool of The International 2022. The money from the remaining sales goes exclusively to Valve. So the buyer is effectively charged twice for what should have been a one-time purchase, and the professional teams get nothing from the second purchase.

Some might call this greed. There was no reason for Valve to change the rules after so many years of successful Battle Pass releases. Unless, of course, they really need the money to stay afloat.

Ever since The International 3, the Dota 2 community has been united by The International and the whole tradition that comes with it. But this year, out of the blue, Valve decided to make a move that might cost them a lot in the long term. Because from the outside, without knowing the economic justifications for the change, the move looks really bad.

Valve is known to not communicate very much with its player base, so people will probably assume the worst.

Header: Valve Corporation