With a rush and a push that lasted nigh on fifty days, Dota 2 fans have bought enough International Compendiums to tip the tournament’s prize pool over the $10 million line.
They did it in $2.50 increments. It’s fair to say there are now a lot of Dota 2 fans.
The Compendium costs £5.99 / $9.99, and does stuff even a really big book couldn’t: keeps players in the loop on match results, and turns bets into points and prizes.
Valve put just $1.6m in the jar when sales of the Compendium began – which means buyers have contributed a total of $8.4m.
The prize pool is now far and away the largest eSports has ever seen. It has long since dwarfed the $2.8m last year’s Compendium helped fund for the International 2013.
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Valve have sustained momentum by adding stretch goals. At the $10m mark, players have unlocked the Victory Prediction taunt – a voiceover bark designed to be used early on in a Dota match that’ll soon be implemented in-game.
The International itself will take place on the weekend beginning July 18 in Seattle’s Key Arena – though as it stands, bothCIS-Game & Arrow Gaming have had their US visas denied. Assuming all goes well, do you expect you’ll watch on Twitch?