Esports is becoming an amazing phenomenon. Every year the interest in this sport only grows, and the prize pool of the esports competition “The International” in Dota 2 is tens of millions of dollars. The record-high prize money of the tournament was in the coronavirus year 2020 – $40 million. However, the event was postponed until 2021 because of the pandemic. It is not unreasonable to recall how things went with the most iconic The International in previous years and what the prize funds were drawn in Dota 2.
The International 2011 – prize pool $ 1,600,000
The first eSports championship, organized by the developer studio Valve, was held at the annual international exhibition of video games Gamescom, in Cologne. Sixteen esports teams from all over the world were invited to the tournament.
- MeetYourMakers
- MiTH-Trust
- GosuGamers.net
- nevo
- Moscow Five
- Natus Vincere
- Virus Gaming
- MUFS
- TyLoo Gaming
- Mineski.Infinity
- Invictus Gaming
- Online Kingdom Nirvana International
- Scythe.SG
- EHOME
- Storm Games Clan
- Online Kingdom Nirvana China
Dota 2 was only being developed at that time, and the invited gamers specialized in DotA – modification for Warcraft 3 strategy. The Ukrainian team Natus Vincere won the championship in a difficult struggle, earning $ 1,000,000. Second place went to the Chinese team EHOME, and third place went to Singaporeans from Scythe.SG.
Related: The International Dota 2 Winners.
The International 2012 – prize pool $1,600,000
The second event was held in Seattle, WA. Traditionally 16 teams participate in the tournament.
- LGD Gaming
- Invictus Gaming
- Natus Vincere
- Counter Logic Gaming
- TongFu
- mTw
- Moscow Five
- Orange E-Sports
- mousesports
- DK
- Absolute Legends
- Darer
- Evil Geniuses
- EHOME
- complexity
- Zenith
The peculiarity of the tournament was that the virtual battles were broadcasted live using Twitch streaming service by famous commentators. As a result, the first place and a million dollars went to the Chinese team “Invictus Gaming”. The second and third places went to the Ukrainians from “Natus Vincere” and the Chinese from “LGD Gaming”.
The International 2013 – prize pool $2 874 380
The third eSports tournament in Seattle was remarkable for its interactive compendium introduced the day before and increased the prize pool by almost $1,300,000. Players who bought The Interactive Compendium from the in-game store got themed bonuses and significantly increased their initial prize money. As usual, 16 teams competed in the tournament.
- Invictus Gaming
- Orange.Neolution
- The Alliance
- Fnatic
- Team Liquid
- Natus Vincere
- Team Zenith
- Team Dignitas
- Virtus.pro
- LGD.int
- Team DK
- Invasion MUFC
- TongFu
- mousesports
- LGD.cn
- Rattlesnake
The Swedish team “The Alliance” were the winners, earning about a million and a half dollars in prize money. “Navi” team from Ukraine took second place and the American team “Orange.Neolution” was third.
The International 2019 – prize pool $34,302,501
The 2019 championship was in Shanghai, China, for the ninth time. Eighteen teams took part in the competition.
The European team “OG” won first place on the podium and received more than 11 million dollars. It was the largest prize pool in eSports history, and it was the first time the “OG” players managed to take the first place in “The International” twice, and they did it in a row. Second and third place went to the Chinese team “PSG.LGD” and the Americans from “Evil Geniuses”.
