The Eleventh Dota 2 World Championship “The International” begins next Saturday in Singapore. With a different format and expected to have less prize money than previous Worlds, TI11 is in many ways the start of a new era for the Worlds.
The groups for the World Cup in Singapore have been drawn. The two favorites and finalists from last year, Team Spirit and PSG.LGD, are in different groups.
There is German participation in the Western European teams Entity, Gaimin Gladiators and Tundra Esports.
“We trained hard and made sure we went into the tournament with confidence,” Leon “Nine” Kirilin, Tundra’s midlaner, told the German Press Agency.
Less prize money for the first time
The legendary prize money of the Dota World Cup, which has set new records in e-sports every year, is expected to fall short of previous years for the first time this year.
The prize money, which is made up of 25 percent of sales of virtual items in the game, is currently 15 million US dollars. At the same time last year, it was already 27 million US dollars.
New format with long breaks
Another novelty is the changed format of the World Cup. There are extended breaks of several days between the group stage, the playoffs and the final.
“The long breaks between stages is the biggest difference,” Nine said. “Teams that build momentum can potentially lose it during the breaks. Teams that need time to reset will get it now.”