CSGO fans call on Valve for crowdfunded majors like TI9

The Dota 2 community has turned The International 2019 into the biggest esports event in history. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s community wishes it had the chance to do the same.

Valve is the publisher of both Dota 2 and CSGO, but while the pro community of the former title gets to reap the benefits of a $31 million tournament inflated by crowdfunding through a seasonal battle pass, CSGO has never seen an event approach a number close to that mark. Even more frustrating is that it’s unclear why Valve has steered away from implementing something similar in Counter-Strike, a game that has an enduring and passionate community.

CSGO might have the most active and robust competitive scene in all of esports, yet its prize pool offerings are dwarfed by those of Dota 2. Per Esports Earnings, the combined prize pools of every CSGO tournament in 2018 was $24,896,009. Dota 2’s The International 2018 alone had a prize pool of $25,532,177.

CSGO fans want an event like The International 2019

This fact isn’t lost on CSGO fans, with a number of them calling for Valve to let fans make up the difference.

In a recent post on Reddit, many fans made clear that they would be more than happy to contribute to a crowdfunded prize pool, even those who aren’t currently active players but still enjoy following the competitive scene. Some added that a seasonal pass built around a major tournament would be a quick and simple solution to this problem and added that other features of Dota 2’s battle pass, like the Battle Cup tournaments, could be an exciting new addition to the game.

Valve already offers a number of limited edition items around CSGO majors, but it certainly feels like they’re leaving money on the table by not adding more. The International does come with some drawbacks when it comes to the overall health of the scene but there’s no denying that CSGO pros, fans, and Valve would all benefit from this.