Dota 2`s The International, the biggest eSports tournament on planet Earth, is taking place this week in Vancouver where teams will compete for the biggest prize pool in the history of competitive gaming. The prize pool this year is around $24.8 million, which surpasses last year`s then-record of $20.77.The first two International events, in 2011 and 2012, had set prize pools of $1.6 million. In 2013, Valve introduced an item people could buy, a `Compendium,` with a portion of the proceeds going toward expanding the prize pool. This proved to be a lucrative idea, as the prize pool has grown every year since the Compendium was added. You can check out the chart below from Twitter user @wykrhm to see how the pool was expanded every year. This year, Valve is selling a Battle Pass ($10), with 25 percent of all proceeds getting added to the prize pool.The International 2018 now has the largest prize pool in the history of esports surpassing that of The International 2017. #TI8 pic.twitter.com/vR9U79i2MK - Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) August 20, 2018According to CNBC, Dota 2`s competitive tournaments paid out $38 million across all of its events last year, which included $20.7 million from The International 2017. That figure is set to be smashed by Epic, which is paying out $100 million for all of the Fortnite competitive gaming tournaments in the 2018-2019 season.The winning team this year will share $10.86 million, with $3.9 million going to the runner-ups. You can see a breakdown of the prize pool payout schedule in the image below from The International`s website. The figures may get bigger still as more Battle Passes get sold.The Main Event begins Monday, August 20, and runs through the finals on Saturday, August 25. Keep checking back with GameSpot for more on the event.
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