The International 2015 tournament prize pool is now more than $17 million, which is by far the biggest prize pool for any game in eSports history. The top sixteen teams are almost complete, with just two more to be determined.
The International 2014 (TI14), which was held last year at KeyArena inside the Seattle Center, set the eSports tournament prize pool record at just over $10 million. TI5 has now dwarfed the number by accumulating $17,297,912 in prize pool at the moment of writing. This number is not final and is bound to increase as the TI main event approaches. Once successfully concluded, TI5 will set a new all time high record in eSports.
With the current numbers, here's how Valve, game developer and publisher for '"Dota 2," plans to allocate the prize pool:
Over a week away from the main event, the group stage teams are almost complete. Only two more teams from the Wild Card are missing. The two teams that will advance to the group stage will be determined by Sunday, July 26, based on the outcomes of matches played between CDEC, VEGA, MVP.Phx and Archon.
The day after Monday, July 27 the group stage matches will begin and are scheduled to be concluded by Thursday, July 30. The sixteen teams will be divided into two groups of eight.
Group A will be comprised of Wild Card 2, compLexity Gaming, Invictus Gaming, LGD Gaming, Natus Vincere, Fnatic, Cloud 9 and Team Secret.
Group B will be made up of Wild Card 1, EHOME, Evil Geniuses, Team Empire, Vici Gaming, Newbee, Virtus Pro and MVP Hot6.
According to Valve's format for the Group Stage, teams play every other team in their group in a best of two. the Top four teams in each group advance to upper bracket of the Main Event while the bottom four teams in each group advance to lower bracket of the Main Event
Once the Group Stage concludes, the Main Event, which is scheduled for August 3 to August 8 can proceed. Games will be played from the KeyArena at Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. The games will also be broadcasted to over 400 theaters within the United States.
The Main Event format will look like this:
The massive prize pool has also unlocked a couple of new items. Axe's Immortal Pet and the Longform Comics were unlocked after the prize pool breached the $15 million mark. Also, new Secret Shop items for TI5 can be pre-ordered and picked up at The International venue. The merchandise will still be available to be ordered online two weeks after the event concludes.
