The Dota 2 International Prize Pool: An In-Depth Look at how the Prize Money Has Evolved

We have arrived in the 15th edition of the Dota 2 International, and the stakes have never felt any bigger. Sixteen of the best Dota 2 teams in the world are all battling it out, for the chance to lift the Aegis trophy, and get their hands on a $2 million prize pool.

For a base prize pool, this is high enough, but what many players found to be unusual about the 2026 tournament prize is that there are no traditional TI Battle Pass or Compendium crowdfunding options. It looks like that instead, Valve has opted to move towards community bundle sales, rather than crowdfunding. So, what caused this change, and what does this mean for the eventual prize pool that this year's winners will receive? Let’s answer all these questions by looking at the facts.

The Best eSports Betting Sites for the Dota 2 TI

4.8/5

Sportzino Review

170,000 GC + 7 SC

T&Cs / 18+

Visit Site

4.7/5

Onyx Odds Review

Spend $10 Get 200 in Bonus Picks

T&Cs / 18+

Visit Site

4.7/5

Rebet Review

Up to 100 Rebet Cash matched in freeplay on First purchase

T&Cs / 18+

Visit Site

What is the TI 2026 prize pool?

As of mid August, with the Dota 2 TI being underway in Shanghai, the current base prize pool for the TI 15 is $2 million.

This is higher than last year's base prize pool, which was in the $1.8 million mark. But, ultimately, if you have followed any of the other Internationals from the past, you know the final prize pool looks a lot different from what the base is advertised at. Many other sources of revenue always pile on to the base amount, which can rapidly increase how much winners can eventually receive.

Currently, it is estimated that the final TI 15 prize pool will be around $2,594,491. However, this is still changing, and it is estimated that the final total will overtake both the 2024 and 2025 totals, so keep an eye on the news, and we will be sure to update it as soon as we know of any substantial increases.

TI 2026 prize pool compared with previous Internationals

So, now that you understand why the Prize Pool model was removed, you can see how the prize pools have evolved, and reduced, over the last several years. However, if you look at the prize pools from 2021, the last year Battle Pas was a central part of the tournament, compared to this year, you’ll see the prize pools are still no chump change. Take a look at the table below to learn more.

So, as you can see, 2026 is nowhere near the peak Battle Pass era in 2021. None of the prize pools were, apart from 2022, where there was still Compendium in play. The trajectory matters though, as while these prize pools are much lower, they are far more reasonable, and they do not cause the industry to crash quite as much as they did during the Battle Pass era. So, this new approach definitely seems to be reversing some of the post-Battle Pass decline, in terms of top tier team involvement, and fan interest in the tournament.

How is the International 15 Prize Pool Funded?

The International is not only the most prestigious tournament in competitive Dota 2 esports, it’s also the most lucrative. The prize pools have been ridiculously high for some editions due to the crowdfunding aspect, take the 2021 Dota 2 TI as an example. In this year, the winning team got their hands on an insane $40 million prize amount, which is something that has never been recorded or met since.

To try make the prize pool amount a little more reasonable, Valve have instead limited the Battle Pass, and have focused on a ore regulated community and supporter bundle model. What this model does is it allows fans or organisations to directly contribute to players and teams efforts in the TI. 50% of their investment will go towards their supported player or team, with 30% going into the prize pool. These bundles can come in three different tiers: Bronze, Silver and Gold. In return for the investment, players can often receive exclusive merchandise, an opportunity to meet the players, and invites to other real time events, such as sponsored dinner or gaming events.

Valve have since regulated this amount, as usually the majority of the bundle money would go towards the prize pool, but now it has been limited to 30%  to stop the prize pool from overinflating. Instead, Valve will put up the remaining 70% of the prize pool themselves.

Why is there no TI 2026 Battle Pass or Compendium?

The primary reason there is no Battle Pass or Compendium this year is because the TI prize pools would often overinflate, and eventually collapse due to ridiculous amount of funding that would go towards these Prize Pools through Battle Pass or Compendium offers.

Take 2021 as an example. It was an exciting tournament, with some phenomenal gameplay from teams such as Team Spirit and Team Falcons. But, the hype around the Battle Pass seemed to drown out a lot of the quality gameplay, and instead of the focus being on the gameplay, players were investing so much money into the Battle Pass that the prize pool became inflated.

Of course, the winning team Team Spirit did not complain! But, it does take the focus away from the tournament itself, and more focus goes towards the Battle Pass, rather than the teams, the players and the gameplay.

To not greatly reduce the prize pool and to keep it competitive, Valve opted to move towards a more direct, straightforward model, where fans and sponsors could still contribute towards the prize pool and get merchandise and in-game and real time rewards as a result, while keeping the focus on the tournament itself.

In all honesty, it was not Valves intention to move away from such a large prize pool. Victorious teams should be rewarded handsomely: the TI is a very prestigious Dota 2 tournament that is difficult to win. It was more just the result from moving away from the bloated Battle Pass model, towards a more direct sponsorship route that makes everything easier to follow.

Does a Smaller Prize Pool Matter for The International?

Ultimately, it’s hard to say. If we were talking the prize pool alone, it may have an impact, as it is unlikely that the Internationals prize pool will ever reach the heights it was once at during peak Battle Pass era, not with the current Dota 2 International 15 format. While a prize as high as $40M created a huge amount of buzz and attracted mainstream attention, it severely affected the following tournaments, as the hype could not live up to it and many aspects of the industry crashed after such a high.

For many fans and teams though, the prestige and accomplishment of lifting a championship, like the Aegis, is the true appeal of winning the International: the prize pool is just the cherry on top. In terms of the players and how much they earn, they can still earn more throughout the Dota 2 season.

There are plenty of other tournaments that the Dota 2 TI favorites have won throughout the year that also contribute large prize pools. Fan response, for the most part, has been mostly positive to this change too. Many fans also believe the focus should be on the game, the skill level and the tournament itself, not Battle Passes and ridiculously high prize pools.

So, a smaller prize pool amount may matter to some. But, ultimately, to true fans of the game, and to the players themselves, they compete for prestige, to be the best and to one day lift the Aegis and call themselves the Kings of Dota 2.