Valve reportedly offering record base prize pool for Dota 2’s TI 2023

Valve is greatly increasing the base prize pool for The International 2023, according to a prominent Dota 2 community figure.

One of the biggest questions surrounding this year’s The International is how high the prize pool will be after Valve dropped the news that there won’t be a Battle Pass for the event.

Traditionally, Valve offers a base prize pool for The International, with the Dota 2 community contributing to it by purchasing the Battle Pass and spending money on in-game items.

However, Valve has decided to move away from this system for TI 2023. “Most Dota players never buy a Battle Pass and never get any rewards from it,” Valve said on June 19.

Rather than focusing on cosmetic content for the Battle Pass, Valve will be rolling out “a TI-themed update” in September focused on the “event, the players, and the games.”

The developer and publisher noted this update will contribute directly to TI 2023’s prize pool, but fans are skeptical that the tournament will be able to match the purses of years past. TI 2022 had $18,930,775 on the line – the lowest prize purse since 2015.

Yaroslav ‘NS’ Kuznetsov, a former Dota 2 player who has worked on the broadcast of five TI events, said on July 2 that Valve will be upping the base prize pool from $1.6 million to a record $3 million.

“I’m saying there’s a bit of little insight,” NS is quoted by escorenews as saying. “Maybe it’s open information, though, I don’t know. Let’s assume I just made it up. At this TI, the starting prize pool will be $3 million, more than at any previous one.”

It remains to be seen what content Valve has in store for TI 2023. The event will take place from October 12-29 in Seattle and feature 20 Dota 2 teams from all over the world.

The International prize pool over the years:

• TI 2011: $1,600,000
• TI 2012: $1,600,000
• TI 2013: $2,874,380
• TI 2014: $10,923,977
• TI 2015: $18,429,613
• TI 2016: $20,770,460
• TI 2017: $24,787,916
• TI 2018: $25,532,177
• TI 2019: $34,330,068
• TI 2021: $40,018,195
• TI 2022: $18,930,775