Dota 2's The International Breaks eSports Records Yet Again

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It feels like this is becoming an annual tradition any time the latest iteration of Dota 2's The International rolls around. Once again, the eSports juggernaut has surpassed all records for the biggest prize pool. Yes, it has even already surpassed last year's record setting prize pool. The pot sits at $18.7 million as of this posting and there is still a week to go before the event even kicks off.

The biggest contributor to this prize pool comes from sales of the Dota 2 Battle Pass which has replaced the Compendium that used to be sold in previous years. Similar to the Compendium, the Battle Pass allows you to level it up through playing the game, watching games, completing quests, or by handing over even more cash. They even allowed users to place their bets, sort of like a free bingo for newbies, on who they thought would advance and how they would perform in the tournament. A portion of all proceeds goes towards the International prize pool, with the rest going to Valve.

Just yesterday, Valve released the Immortal Treasure III to Battle Pass owners that earned it. This goes hand in hand with a small title update for the game.

As with treasures I & II, Immortal Treasure III features escalating odds, and each one opened increases your chances to receive the bonus rare Battle Points, very rare golden version of the Slark item, or ultra rare Lina item. Each available rare has its own independent escalating odds chance.

Check out the Battle Pass website for a preview of the items and custom spell effects contained in this new Immortal Treasure, or jump into your Armory to reveal your reward.

Those players who reach Battle Level 167 and beyond will also find additional Immortal Treasure III’s waiting to help celebrate their Battle Pass accomplishments, so level up your Battle Pass before the conclusion of The International 2016 Grand Finals to increase your haul. 25% of all level sales will go directly to the tournament prize pool, which will soon surpass last year’s record high of $18,429,613 to become the largest tournament payout in esports history.

To commemorate this new high-water mark, every Battle Pass owner will receive three Trust of the Benefactor treasure rewards in their Armory at the conclusion of The International Battle Pass season.

How does the The International 2016 compare with other eSports events? Well, the 2016 Halo Championship Series only hit $3 million for its prize pool. ESL One: Cologne for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, another one of Valve's largest properties, only had a $1 million prize pool. Perhaps one day CS:GO will see the same TLC that they extend to Dota 2 with the International and its new Battle Pass.