As the Dota 2 Championship draws nearer, so does the prize pool reach a size that was previously unthinkable by eSports supporters. Funded by the sale of the Dota 2 Compendium, the prize money has now gone past US$10 million (RM32.1 million); with another 2 weeks to go before the end of the sales period, there is a decent chance that this number will continue to grow.
The Compendium has reached all the stretch goals initially laid out to entice players to spend their money on it, as well as the additional stretch goals that were added when Valve realised there was still a whole month before the actual event. It wouldn’t be surprising if new stretch goals were added just to give people more to look forward to.
At this rate, the Dota 2 Championship prize pool will be more than four times more than the 2014 Malaysian Open golf tournament. It may be a good time to switch from golf to eSports, and with any luck this method of sourcing prize money from the community will be what it needs to provide the athletes with enough earnings to make a proper living.
[Source: Dota 2 Compendium]
