Last year’s Dota 2 season was filled with
exciting storylines, history-defining moments,
and record-breaking numbers.
Patch 7.00 arrived, the International once
again shattered the record for largest prize
pool for an esports event, and juggernauts
like OG, Team Liquid, Virtus Pro, and Newbee
dominated the professional scene.
Let’s take a look back at the previous season,
and some of the eye-popping numbers it produced.
The International 7 broke the all-time prize
pool record for the fourth year in a row,
with nearly $25 million in its pot.
Players raised $23 million through the TI7
Battle Pass.
By the end of the crowdfunding campaign, TI7
had a final prize pool of $24,787,916.
With that kind of cash, you could buy the
Battle Pass and enough additional levels to
hit level 59.5 million, or purchase around
708,000 Arcana bundles from the Dota 2 store.
Or, if you want to have enough Red Bull to
last you multiple lifetimes, you can buy over
12.4 million cans.
Which when stacked together is 1,044 miles
long.
That's enough to reach the peak of Mt. Everest…
nearly 190 times.
TI7 was watched by as many as 921,000 viewers,
with the grand final match between Team Liquid
and Newbee seen by 883,000.
The grand finals were watched by 44 percent
more people than those that watched the TI6
grand final.
Oh, and the metagame was superbly balanced,
too.
TI7 set the all-time record for hero inclusivity,
with all but five heroes chosen in at least
one game in the tournament.
Moreover, Patch 7.06 lasted through three
months of professional play, with only minor
revisions here and there before finally being
replaced by 7.07.
China kept its status as a hotbed for all
things Dota 2, thanks to the eight premier
events that the country hosted last season.
Chinese tournaments accounted for $3.6 million
in prize money—which amounts to around 68
percent of all tournaments that were not the
two Majors and TI7.
Though its strength as a region in the competitive
scene fluctuates every year, it’s obvious
that the Chinese community still loves the
game.
After TI7, Valve established the Pro Circuit,
ending the old Major system and once again
giving third-party organizers the opportunity
to run their own events with financial support
from the Dota 2 publisher.
So far, the Pro Circuit has a total payout
of $14.3 million across nine Majors and 13
Minors, with more of these events possibly
in the works.
That's already created almost $9 million more
than what Valve paid out last year via the
Boston and Kiev Majors, so there’s definitely
more money to go around this time.
Speaking of the old Majors: European team
OG was the only squad to win four of them
under the pre-Pro Circuit system.
The only other team to ever win a Major before
the Pro Circuit was Team Secret, who won the
Shanghai Major in 2016.
How’s that for consistency?
All these numbers made for one of the most
memorable and well-loved seasons in the game’s
history—but an even bigger one is already
underway.
Thanks to the Pro Circuit and the ever-shifting
landscape of Dota 2 as a game and esport,
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00:03:33,600 --> 00:00:00,000
2018 should be even more thrilling.
