Dota 2’s The International 2019 closing in on Fortnite World Cup’s $30 million prize pool

The prize pool for DotA 2’s The International 2019 is on pace to once again smash last year’s total and looks like it could be gunning to surpass the Fortnite World Cup’s $30 million prize.

Since the advent of the crowd-sourced prize pool for The International in 2013, DotA 2’s biggest event has been renowned for offering the largest prize in esports by a significant margin.

Every year, the DotA 2 community comes together to break the previous record, contributing to the prize pool by buying and levelling up the Battlepass.

In 2019, however, for the first time another event looks set to offer more money in a single event, with the Fortnite World Cup, the finals of which are set to take place on July 26-28, boasting an unbelievable $30 million prize pool.

The International 2018 was won by OG, who took home a massive $11,234,158.

There are some caveats to the comparison – for the Fortnite World Cup, the prize will actually be split between two separate tournaments, a solos competition and a duos competition, meaning that for a single tournament The International still holds the record regardless of 2019’s eventual pool.

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The first-place prize in The International also dwarfs that of the Fortnite World Cup, with 2018 winners OG awarded 44% of the total pool, an enormous $11,234,158 compared to the World Cup’s $3 million, although the International’s prize is split between more players and therefore may offer less per person than victory in the Fortnite World Cup’s solo tournament will.

It seems DotA fans aren’t happy to let the Fortnite World Cup lead by any possible metric, however, as the prize pool for this year’s International is currently smashing the pace set by 2018’s crowdfunding efforts.

A comparison of The International prize pools, as of June 28.

At the time of writing, the total prize pool for The International 2019 sits at $23,001,400. For comparison, at the same point in the process for 2018, the prize pool was nearly $5 million less at around $18 million.

The prize pool will also continue to build right up until the conclusion of the event, meaning the DotA 2 community is only around half way through the time they have to keep adding to the pot.

While trends from previous years suggest the growth should slow down significantly from here on out, it certainly looks like The International 2019 will not only top its previous record once again, but do so by an enormous amount.