The first edition of the tournament was held in 2011 with a prize pool of $1,600,000. This was increased to $2,874,380 in 2013 and $40,018,195 in 2021, which means it has grown to be worth over 25 times from the initial first prize. Here is a summary of the prize pool based on each year.
- 2011: $1.6 million
- 2012: $1.6 million
- 2013: $2.8 million
- 2014: $10.9 million
- 2015: $18.4 million
- 2016: $20.7 million
- 2017: $24.7 million
- 2018: $25.8 million
- 2019: $34.3 million
- 2021: $40.0 million
As you can tell, the prize pool has been increasing steadily since 2012, meaning we can safely assume that the trend will continue.
How big is The International?
The International is considered one of the biggest esports tournaments in the world. It draws hundreds of thousands of competitors and is watched by millions of people online. With a prize pool having reached $45,000,000 (2022 edition), The International is clearly not a small tournament. Indeed, that prize pool is not pocket change, and no small tournament would have such a staggering amount of money to be won.
Another reason why The International is a big tournament is that it brings together 18 teams from different parts of the world. The tournament is not just about a single country or continent; it is for the world. In terms of viewership, The International attracts millions of viewers. For instance, the number of concurrent viewers of the 2021 edition went as high as 2.74 million.