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The International is the annual championship event for "Dota 2," offering millions in prize money.
- The International is one of the biggest annual events in esports, and this year, the event is currently offering a crowd-funded prize pool of $33,039,566
- The event is a championship tournament for "Dota 2," a popular free-to-play game that's been around for more than a decade.
- Eighteen teams from around the world have qualified for the tournament, which starts in Shanghai, China, on August 15.
- The winning team will take home more than $15 million, turning the champions into instant millionaires.
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One of the biggest events in esports kicked off from Shanghai on Wednesday night, pitting 18 teams against each other for a share of a $33 million prize pool.
The International is the annual championship for "Dota 2," a popular free-to-play computer game with millions of players around the world. "Dota 2" has more than 10 million active players each month, and each one of them can help contribute to the massive prize pool by spending money on the game.
Valve, the company behind "Dota 2," began hosting The International near their Seattle headquarters in 2011, and adopted a crowd-funding model to help support the game's active esports community.
The first International offered a $1.6 million prize pool, but it's ballooned in the years since. Last year's event gave away $25.5 million to the qualified teams, and this year's $33,039,566 prize pool could continue to increase as the tournament gets underway.
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"Dota 2" is a team strategy game, and each match can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and a half to complete. Players must implement a masterful level of strategy, team work, technical skill, and overall game knowledge to reach The International, and the 18 qualified teams showcase talent from countries around the world.
Group play begins on August 15, and the main event will be held from August 20 to 25. Each match will be streamed live on Twitch.TV, and the main event will be held over the course of five days in Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Arena, which seats up to 18,000 people.
Here's everything you need to know about The International, the massive championship event giving away $33 million in prize money.
