The general interest and the jackpot in particular may have decreased recently. Nevertheless, it is still one of the largest e-sports events in the world and is considered the Super Bowl of the gaming scene: “The International 2024” starts on September 4th in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Or alternatively “TI13” because it is being held for the 13th time since it started in August 2011 at gamescom in Cologne.
The fantasy strategy game “Dota 2” is played. To put it simply, teams of five characters with individual special abilities compete against each other to destroy the enemy base. Along the way, players have to get rid of monsters and develop their own skills. The abbreviation for the real-time online strategy game stands for “Defense of the Ancients” and was originally a “Warcraft 3” mod that Steam operator Valve professionalized.
How many millions is the jackpot?
While the record sum of just over 40 million dollars was distributed to the participants at “International 2021”, the jackpot fell noticeably in the following years – from initially 18.9 million US dollars (2022) to 3.4 million US dollars (2023) and now 2.2 million US dollars (2024). The reason is the community’s dwindling interest in the in-game purchases that Valve first offered as part of the “TI Battle Pass” and later as the “Compendium”. 25 percent of the revenue ends up in the jackpot – in addition to the 1.6 million dollars that Valve brings in as a base. However, the additional content is nowhere near as attractive as it once was, and the prize pools are correspondingly low.
How to play?
16 teams are competing. Six were seeded, ten others qualified in continental competitions – two each from Western Europe, China, Southeast Asia and South America, and one team each from Eastern Europe and North America. First, there will be group matches on September 4th and 5th, as well as “seeding decider” matches (September 6th and 7th) that will determine the starting position in the final round. Things will get really exciting from September 8th, when the play-offs begin, before the grand finale finally takes place on September 15th.
Will German players take part in “The International 2024”?
With Philipp “Copy” Bühler (Team nouns) and Erik “tOfu” Engel (Team Gaimin Gladiators), two German pro gamers are represented in the final round of “The International”, with Gaimin Gladiators being one of the favorites. The two players are trying to follow in the footsteps of Leon “Nine” Kirilin, who suddenly became a millionaire in 2022 by winning “The International” with his team members from Tundra Esports.
Where can you watch “The International”?
Those who are curious can watch the matches of the “Dota 2” World Championship directly in the game or for free on the official Twitch channel (twitch.tv/dota2ti). Experts analyze the games and there are also numerous interviews. However, a good knowledge of English is required to be able to follow the commentators. If you missed a live stream, you can catch up on replays and the highlights of a tournament day on the official YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/dota2).
