Win.gg
Dota 2
TI10 Battle Pass drives prize pool over $10 million in 3 days TI10 Battle Pass drives prize pool over $10 million in 3 days
The International 10 Battle Pass has already hit another milestone.
The prize pool for TI10 has cleared the $10 million mark. This came less than 72 hours after the TI10 Battle Pass’ launch, with this milestone being reached faster than any other previous installment.
The success of the TI10 Battle Pass in its first few days is music to the ears of both Valve and pro Dota 2 players.
Though The International Battle Pass is a consistent success, 2020 is an awkward year on multiple fronts. Valve indefinitely delayed The International 2020, removing the titular event from the equation for the foreseeable future. Alongside this delay are financial woes around the globe that could threaten Dota 2 players’ ability to slap down cash on skins and other rewards in a free-to-play game.
Despite those hurdles, The International 10’s prize pool is on pace to exceed those of previous years. Perhaps by a significant margin.
The TI10 prize pool sits at $10,250,069 as of this writing.
TI10 Battle Pass skins are driving force behind success
So why is the TI10 Battle Pass doing so well at this point? The answer is that it offers more and better skins than years past.
The International 2019 prize pool reached an amazing $34,330,068 last year. The only serious change between its battle pass and the prior year’s was that it included more unique limited edition skins.
Valve doubled down on that in the TI10 Battle Pass by offering three Arcana skins and two Hero Personas as high-level rewards. Included in this is the Windranger skin that likely would have been rolled out had the hero won the TI9 Arcana Challenge, as well as a new Arcana for Queen of Pain. The One True King skin for Wraith King was also available at launch for the battle pass, hearkening back to when the hero was known as Skeleton King.
There are also two Hero Personas, which functionally keep a hero’s abilities but turn them into a new character. The first is a Pudge persona that turns the hero into a giant stuffed toy. The other is a wildly popular genderbent Anti-Mage skin that replaces him with a new disciple of his, a woman named Wei.
The uncertainty surrounding the date of The International 10 makes it impossible to guess what the final tally will be. Regardless, beating out last year’s record seems like an inevitability given this quick start.
Steven Rondina
About Steven Rondina
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
View full profile
Read Also
Dota 2
Yandex to repeat?: BLAST SLAM VIII preview, predictions, and more
Michael Hassall
If you can believe it, we’re already on the eighth edition of BLAST SLAM, as BLAST SLAM VIII kicks off tomorrow (Sep. 29) pitting 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams against each other in what promises to be the first big challenge of this young season. Let’s face it: At PGL Wallachia, we were missing a lot of the heavy hitters. No TI15 champs, no PARIVISION, not BetBoom, ...
Dota 2
Unstoppable Yandex crush NAVI in one-sided PGL Wallachia finals
Michael Hassall
Team Yandex has swept the grand finals of the PGL Wallachia Season 9 Dota 2 tournament, defeating Natus Vincere (NAVI) in a 3-0 drubbing this past weekend (Sep. 27). As predicted, the revitalized Yandex, hot off the signing of former Team Falcons star Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf, crushed their youthful opponents in a three-game sweep in the best-of-five finals. Here’s how it happened: After upsetting the star-studded LGD Gaming roster (albeit ...
Dota 2
Team Yandex to win it all? PGL Wallachia Season 9 Finals preview and predictions
Michael Hassall
The first big event after TI15, PGL Wallachia Season 9, wraps up this Sunday, Sep. 27, and it’s set to be a hell of a show. After a solid week of action, with some surprise eliminations along the way, we’re down to just three teams from the original 16. Team Yandex, LGD Gaming, and Natus Vincere (NAVI) remain, having battled through some big upsets to get there. Yandex are hot ...
Dota 2
MidOne to Play for Team Liquid at BLAST Slam 8, Replacing Nisha: Permanent or Stand-in?
Owen Harsono
Like most other Dota 2 teams, Team Liquid have also undergone roster changes after The International 2026, replacing Ace for Wisper. However, a swap in offlaners wasn’t the end, as veteran mid-laner MidOne has been registered under the team ahead of BLAST Slam 8, taking Nisha’s spot. Is MidOne only acting as a stand-in, or is this going to be a permanent move? Here’s what we know. On September 25, ...
Dota 2
PGL Wallachia Season 9 Playoffs preview and predictions
Michael Hassall
PGL Wallachia Season 9 is the first major tournament since the 2025/2026 Dota 2 season came to its conclusion at TI15, and with the roster shuffle still, well, shuffling, and top teams skipping the event while they get things finalized, it’s been an unusual tournament so far. With some surprising names in the playoffs (especially if you’ve been following the scene for the rest of the year) and the absence ...
Dota 2
ESIC hand down ruling in EWC Dota match-fixing case: Lifetime ban for coach as DarkMago gets a nickel
Michael Hassall
South American Dota 2 player Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera will be banned for five years from competitive Dota 2, with his coach Juan "Vintage" Angulo banned permanently, following the results of an The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) investigation. ESIC handed down the findings and rulings from its investigation into match-fixing allegations leveled at members of South American Dota 2 team PlayTime during the Esports World Cup on Sep. 10, in a ...
News
Polystrike Turns a Dota 2 Mod Into a Standalone Tactical Shooter
Hannan Mundia
After the community-made mod found success within the community, developer and publisher Robin Entertainment has decided to turn Polystrike into a proper standalone game. Community-made mods of games finding success within the respective game’s community is nothing new. However, only a handful of those mods are able to go on and become a standalone game. One of the more recent examples is The Forgotten City, which started as a mod ...
