Cover-Credits:
Zeng “Ori” Jiaoyang, a retired Chinese professional Dota 2 player who last played for Team Aster, had a very interesting take on supporting teams from China at The International 2023 (TI12), without even purchasing the Compendium for this year.
CN Dota In A Nutshell, a renowned Twitter page dedicated to reporting Dota 2 news within the Chinese region, reported that Ori made a statement about his preference to play Honkai: Star Rail rather than Dota 2 to support Chinese teams, Azure Ray and LGD Gaming, who are participating in The International 2023 (TI12).
If you are unaware, this year's TI prize pool is solely dependent on the Compendium sales. With many pros and esports personalities weighing in on the controversial Compendium and TI prize pool for this year, such a remark from an eminent Chinese pro has gotten attention in the community.
Ori Refuses to Buy Compendium
In the last week of October, Honkai: Star Rail, developed by HoYoverse, announced that it is sponsoring two prominent Chinese Teams for The International 2023 which is going to be held in Seattle, Washington.
The two teams receiving sponsorship from Honkai: Star Rail are Team Azure Ray and LGD Gaming.
Ori was reported to have said, “I’m playing Honkai: Star Rail which probably means I’m also AR [Azure Ray] and LGD’s sponsor in some way, I think anyone who plays this game can be counted as their sponsor. I don’t want to buy this TI’s compendium, so I probably will spend that money on Honkai: Star Rail instead.”
The fact that a decorated professional player would rather choose to play Honkai: Star Rail to support Dota 2 teams instead of buying the Compendium for this year’s The International, sends a clear message about the reception of this year’s Compendium.
The International 2023 has not been met with applause from the Dota 2 community. Many pros and esports personalities like Jonathan "Loda" Berg and Janne "Gorgc" Stefanovski have been publicly bashing the Compendium.
Even Saudi Arabian Prince, Abdullah bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is known for his lavish expenditure on the seasonal pass for The International was spotted with a modest Compendium Level of 306. This is in sharp contrast to his early season pass levels that exceeded 100,000.
As a consequence of this underwhelming Compendium, the prize pool at the time of writing sits at a modest $2.9 Million USD. Notably, this has been the lowest prize pool figure in eight years.
Honkai: Star Rail also announced alongside its sponsorship for both AR and LGD at TI12, that it will award additional Stellar Jade rewards to the trailblazers based on the best performance between these two teams at this year's TI. The rewards tier list is as follows:
1st place - 1,000 Stellar Jade
2nd place - 700 Stellar Jade
3rd place - 600 Stellar Jade
Top 4 - 500 Stellar Jade
Top 6 - 400 Stellar Jade
Top 8 - 300 Stellar Jade
Top 12 - 200 Stellar Jade
Top 16 - 100 Stellar Jade
