Cover-Credits:
There has been a lot of conversation around the release of the highly-anticipated 2023 Dota 2 Compendium. It has been four days since the Compendium’s release and the prize pool collection remains extremely underwhelming. The Compendium, which contributes 25% of its total sales to The International 2023 prize pool, has managed to amass a total of $1,123,012 USD ($1.1 Million), according to the Dota 2 Prize Pool tracker. At the time of writing, this figure represents a 70.19% increase from its initial base of $1.6 Million USD. While this is a noteworthy amount, it still falls significantly short of expectations, resulting in a total prize pool of $2,723,012 USD ($2.7 Million), a sum that many find disappointing.
TI Prize Pool Stagnation
Janne "Gorgc" Stefanovsk, a prominent Dota 2 streamer and personality, has emerged as a notable voice of skepticism about the 2023 Dota 2 Compendium. He firmly asserted that The International 2023's prize pool will never reach the coveted $5 Million threshold, characterizing such a projection as overly "optimistic." His reasoning revolved around the time constraints imposed upon this year's Compendium as he stated out how the tournament officially kicks off in less than two weeks.
Gorgc pointed out the advantage enjoyed by previous editions of The International Battle Passes. He reasoned that the previous editions had ample time at their disposal to accumulate contributions towards the final prize pool. In stark contrast, this year's edition of The International finds itself constrained, with just two weeks to gather the necessary funding to maintain its reputation as one of the most lucrative events in the esports industry.
He said, "It [graph] looks flat, bro. That's not going to $5 [Million]. That's all I got to say. This graph will never reach $5 Million, the way it looks right now... TI is in two weeks, guys. Just want to remind everybody."
The International 2023's prize pool, a subject of interest in the esports community, has experienced a stagnation in its growth. A key component of this prize pool is the Compendium. This contribution has historically played a pivotal role in establishing The International as one of the most lucrative tournaments in the esports industry, having achieved a remarkable peak of $40 Million USD during TI 2021.
Earlier this year, Valve Corporation outlined its intent to shift the Compendium's focus towards players and teams rather than cosmetics and in-game rewards. The objective was to empower fans to directly support their favorite teams. Regrettably, this alteration has seemingly encountered a negative reception within the Dota 2 community, with numerous professional players voicing their dissatisfaction via various social media platforms.
The disappointment surrounding the Compendium's performance can likely be attributed to the conspicuous absence of cosmetic items, map terrains, couriers, collectibles, and various other enjoyable rewards that were almost customary in previous Battle Pass iterations.
As the Dota 2 community grapples with the evolving dynamics of The International 2023's prize pool, the ensuing discussions and debates will undoubtedly shape the trajectory of this celebrated esports event in the coming days and weeks.
