DOTA 2 International is offering more than $20 million in prize money

This year's pot is a step up from 2015's $18.4 million.

David Craddock

August 8, 2016 2:23 PM

8

Valve's DOTA 2 International tournament kicked off today, and 16 teams will be competing for more than $20 million in prize money. That's a small step up from the $18.4 million pot up for grabs in 2015, and a huge leap ahead of the $1 million in winnings from 2011.

The official International website breaks down how Valve is carving up this year's $20 million: the team that places first will divide up $8.8 million, all the way down to just over $100,000 for 16th place—a nontrivial amount, even for coming in last.

Twenty-five percent of this year's earnings came from sales of the 2016 Battle Pass, a collection of in-game quests and items.

While numerous games are played competitively, DOTA 2 is still one of the most lucrative. The 2016 Halo World Championship put up $2.5 million in prize money (via GameSpot).

This year's DOTA 2 International is already underway, and over 100,000 concurrent users are watching the official Twitch stream.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.