It would appear Epic Games and tournaments like the Fortnite World Cup have a new bar set for them when it comes to the biggest pool of winnings in the world. Not only did Dota 2’s annual tournament - The International 2019 - crown it’s first back-to-back champions when team OG scored their second championship. The event also ended up boasting the largest single event prize pool of any esports event in history.
The International concluded on August 25 in the Mercedes-Benz arena in Shanghai, China. Though 16 teams qualified for the main event, the list was chipped down to Team Liquid and OG when it came time for the Finals. Though Liquid put up a valiant effort, OG clenched their history-making second championship in a row with a 3-1 victory over Liquid. It was an amazing show between both teams with OG showing dominance throughout and Liquid making a tough run through the bracket from the losers end to arrive in the Finals regardless of an early loss.
The Aegis of Champions, successfully defended, returns to OG. #dota2 #TI9 pic.twitter.com/mbUjBYxJAG
— The International (@dota2ti) August 25, 2019
By the time the Finals had come on, crowdfunding for The International 2019 prize pool had raised over $34 million. This beat out the recently set record by the 2019 Fortnite World Cup event, which boasted its own $30 million prize pool to hold the record for a time. For their championship win, OG took over $15.5 million of the prize home with them. Liquid didn’t walk away without a chunk of change either, coming away with nearly $4.5 million for their second place finish. Many of the other teams involved in the main event also scored a healthy paycheck for their appearance at The International 2019’s main event as well. Even the teams running down near 16th place scored over $500,000 a piece (as reported by Liquidpedia’s stats of the event).
With another amazing year of Dota 2 competition at an end, it remains to be seen if Epic, let along anyone can put up a comparative pool to that of The International 2019. Its fans around globe show that true love of the game and the teams that play it continue to make Dota 2 one of the most impressive esports in the world.
[Featured Image via Dota 2 The International Twitter]
