The International 10’s Prize Pool will officially be the largest esports prize pool in history, as crowd funding for the amount finished on Friday, October 9th. The final total? An incredible $40,018,195 dwarfing even last year’s record of $34,330,068.
TI10’s Prize Pool broke $40 million with just 10 minutes to go before the final cut off point. (Photo courtesy Valve)
The Battle Pass has been the longest Valve has ever run, lasting for an insane 138 days. Wracked with delays and extensions, the Battle Pass was originally intended to last until September 12th. However, after repeated downtime experienced by users, the developer announced the extension of the pass to September 15th.
The pass was further extended until its final deadline on October 9th after the extended delay to the release of Immortal Treasure III. Almost an extra month was added in total, giving plenty of time for players to grind for the new treasure and highly sought after Windranger Arcana and Pudge and Anti-Mage Personas.
Cynically, the extensions also allowed the pass to reach even greater heights, pushing closer to a $40 million total prize pool. It’s estimated that the Battle Pass will have netted in excess of $110 million for Valve thanks to their 75% cut of sales.
During the past four months, the TI10 Battle Pass broke numerous records during its run, having the largest release day purchase of any single prize pool drive by Valve. The $6,552,515 raised by eager players dwarfed its predecessors and helped set the prize pool on the path to the top.
Of the $40 Million, an estimated $17,000,000 will be up for grabs by the eventual winner of TI10, based on the distribution of previous years. Runners up are expected to receive between $5 million for second place, down to around $100,000 for 17th-18th place. It means that Valve’s premier esport tournament, which is “likely to occur” in the new year, remains one of the most lucrative events in the whole of esports.
However, the news of a once again record-breaking prize pool will be of little consolation to the Dota 2 esports scene. Many teams and regions as a whole have struggled in the wake of the delay and likely cancellation of the 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit season. Southeast Asia has seen a plethora of teams disband or go on hiatus in recent months. Meanwhile, North America, where Valve is primarily based, has seen the number of tier one sponsored Dota 2 teams fall to just one: Evil Geniuses.
For more information on the TI10 prize pool, or a detailed breakdown, head to the official tracking website.
