Insider: Valve plans to raise The International 2023 prize pool to $15 million

There is information suggesting that the prize pool for Riyadh Masters 2023 could have been higher than $15 million, but Valve allegedly prohibited increasing it beyond this mark to avoid surpassing the prize pool of TI12.

This information was shared by Zhanna 'Red' Batkovna, a esports manager for Dota 2 teams, on her Telegram channel.

«To put it in context, the prize pool for Riyadh Masters 2023 was supposed to be significantly higher. However, the organizers didn't receive approval from Valve to prevent it from exceeding The International 2023's prize pool. So, are we looking at ~$15,000,000 for TI?»

Based on this information, it can be inferred that the developers of Dota 2 may boost the prize pool for TI12 to exceed $15 million.

It's worth noting that the prize pool for The International 2023 initially started at $1.6 million and gradually increases through the sale of the thematic compendium. As of the time of this news release, the prize pool for the Dota 2 world championship stood at $2,765,449.