TI9 tickets sold out due to scalpers, being resold for $1,800

Olivia Richman Published 02/06/2019

Hopefully, true Dota 2 fans have already purchased their tickets for The International. 

Prices for TI9 have spiked to an insane $1,800 since their May 24 release. Many Dota 2 fans are blaming the skyrocketing ticket prices on scalpers. Tickets for the major Dota 2 event were sold out within minutes. 

The 26,804 tickets Valve had made available in the Chinese market were sold out the instant they became avaialable for purchase. This included 9,268 tickets for August 20 and 21, and 8,268 for the weekend, including the grand finals. 

Team Secret manager Matthew “Cyborgmatt” Bailey said that the weekend bundles sold out in 27 seconds. That was due to player’s using early access codes, which were given to individuals subscribed to Dota Plus and to those who purchased the T19 Battle Pass on May 21. 

Since the early access code-weilding fans had purchased all of the available tickets within seconds, Valve and Damai canceled the open purchasing period. But even with the early access barrier, tickets started popping up on resale sites. And they weren’t cheap. 

Resale sites like TaoBao had weekend passes for up to $1,800. Their original price was a little over $300.

“Personally as a Dota player, I’v always been dreaming of going to a TI tournament live. In the past years the tournament has been held in America. This was the first time that it is held in China. But the tickets are all sold to scalpers, even before I had a chance to buy any. I hope people, Valve if possible, are aware of this issue,” said one Dota 2 fan on Reddit. 

The post also pointed out that this is, sadly, nothing new. 

In 2018, Damai also authorized tickets sales for a League of Legends tournament. Most of the tickets went to scalpers before the official ticket sales even started. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t a problm Valve can easily fix. The venue where the event is being held are usually the ones in charge of ticket sales, and choose which website to sell the tickets on. 

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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