Valve’s The International 5 Exceeds $16.5 Million, Finals To Be Screened In Theaters

Valve’s fifth annual Dota 2 tournament is continuing with tradition, demolishing TI4’s $10.9 million record for the largest prize pool for a videogame tournament in the same fashion as Ti4 did to Ti3’s record of “just” $2.87 million before it.  At $16.6 million as of this writing, all fundraising goals have already been met and exceeded, unlocking a myriad of assorted in-game goodies for 2015 Compendium owners – but TI5 itself doesn’t even start until August 3^rd.

This is no small feat; only $1.6 million was initially contributed by Valve meaning the remaining $15 million has been generated entirely from the Dota 2 community itself via purchases of said compendiums, compendium points, and even a TI5 chest containing hero sets. If nothing changes and Ti5 progresses as good or better than TI4, then by the 8^th day the final prize pool has a very real chance of reaching the eye-popping $20 million mark.

It should come as no surprise that Valve is continuing to up the ante. Last year TI4 fans were able to visit regionally organized “pubstomps” where viewers could get together at sports bars or restaurants to watch the TI4 games in action. Pubstomp parties will return again this year with a global listing of organized locations now available,  however Valve is upping the ante. This year the company has coordinated to bring the Dota 2 T5 Grand Final games to your local movie theaters.

Yes, you read that right. It seems a large number of theaters are eager to experiment with live (or nearly) live screening a major e-sports event. No less than seven theaters within thirty minutes of my location have a single showtime on August 8^th reserved for the Ti5 Grand Finals. Those curious can check for local theaters through this ticket portal or even directly through their theater’s website. It is worth nothing that likely only theaters with digital projectors can participate. Only the Grand Finals best of five match will be shown, but given each game is likely to run anywhere from thirty minutes to over an hour it is no wonder. If past Internationals are anything to go by then viewers are guaranteed a minimum of four games for the Grand Finals.

No doubt it is fair to say Valve is taking a risk here. Technical glitches at the event or with the stream are a very real possibility, and there’s always that chance of an anticlimactic, short, or simply disappointing finale as what many fans felt occurred during Ti4. Certainly given the prize pool, teams will have every incentive to play at their very best, but more importantly this is likely why Valve has doubled the number of invited teams from eight to sixteen. With many more games for teams to play through (nevermind the many good games already played just to qualify for one of those sixteen slots), only the two teams currently at the top of their game should last through to the finals.

Whether you are one of the lucky 17,000 going to the Keystone area, the thousands hanging out at a local pubstomp party, or the millions that will be watching  at home  via Twitch and in-game for free natively through the Dota 2 game client, the odds are shaping up for a truly spectacular tournament next month. But if you elect to go watch the Grand Finals on the 8^th in a theater, just remember to pass me that popcorn please.