Outstanding cybercash – Newspaper Kommersant No. 190 (7152) dated 19.10.2021

by time news

The Russian team Team Spirit became the winner of The International Dota 2 esports tournament held in Bucharest. For the victory, the team members received more than $ 18 million, which is one of the largest one-time prizes in gaming disciplines, and not only for esports. The impression of the success was so great that the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin congratulated Team Spirit, noting that the team members had actually proved that they were “capable of conquering any peaks.”

The Russian team Team Spirit became the winner of The International in Dota 2, the largest annual eSports tournament, in which 18 best teams in the world selected the strongest. In the final of the tournament, Team Spirit defeated the favorite, the Chinese team PSG LGD, whose partner is the French football club PSG. In addition to the Russians Yaroslav Naydenov, Magomed Khalilov and Alexander Hertek, Miroslav Kolpakov and Ilya Mulychuk from Ukraine played for Team Spirit.

The International, held annually, was first held in 2011, and taking into account the fact that in 2020 the competitions were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the current championship turned out to be the tenth anniversary, which is reflected in its official name – The International X.

It is also worth paying attention to the impressive prize pool of the tournament – $ 40 million.

Of these, the champion got more than $ 18.2 million, the team that took second place – $ 5.2 million, the third – $ 3.6 million. For comparison, the prize pool of the richest tennis tournament, the US Open, in 2021 was $ 57.5 million. But at the same time, the champions in the men’s and women’s singles received only $ 2.5 million. If you simply divide the prize money received by Team Spirit by the number of team members, it turns out that each is owed $ 3.64 million. Yes, there are competitions with much more serious prize money for participants. For example, three dozen participants of the Tour Championship golf tournament in 2021 competed for $ 46 million, and the champion immediately got $ 15 million. But the trend of equalizing the incomes received by top athletes and the same cybersportsmen is obvious.

Using The International as an example, one can trace how the prize money progressed in Dota 2. In 2011, the prize fund of the championship was $ 1.6 million and was provided by the contribution of the Dota 2 developer Valve (he still annually allocates these same $ 1.6 million for filling the prize fund). But already in 2013, the participants were asked to play almost $ 2.9 million. a kind of distribution scheme for the income Valve receives from in-game purchases. For example, a Battle pass (includes items that give access to the tournament and additional opportunities), depending on the rank, costs from $ 10 to $ 50.

And Valve directs a quarter of its sales to fill the prize pool of The International, ensuring the game has an enviable longevity for the world of cyber entertainment.

Domestic athletes have previously participated in The International eight times, but have never won prizes. That is why the tournament attracted huge interest in Russia, which spilled out far beyond the limits of the eSports community. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin made a statement on this matter. “Congratulations on your well-deserved victory at The International 2021 – the Dota 2 World Championship. For the first time in history, the Russian team of the Team Spirit club won these prestigious competitions. Well done! – stated in the statement. – On the way to the final you demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and solidarity, and in the decisive duel, which became a real test of skill and character, you managed to concentrate and seize the initiative from strong opponents at the most crucial moment. They have proved in practice that our cybersportsmen are always goal-oriented and capable of conquering any heights. “

Alexander Petrov

.

You may also like

Leave a Comment