Published , by Asif Khan
Published , by Asif Khan
TI9 has officially come to an end in Shanghai, China, and we have first back-to-back champions. OG defeated Team Liquid in the grand finals to secure the bag for the second year in a row at The International Dota 2 Championships.
Congratulations to OG on the victory. The team takes home a record prize of $15.5 million, which amounts to $3.1 million for each player.
Here's a breakdown of TI9's record $34.3 million prize pool:
Team Liquid still walks away with $4.45 million of the prize pool after falling in game four of the Grand Finals to OG. Check out our full TI9 standings guide to find out where all the other teams placed. Another fun fact about today's results, brought up by ichiban esports consultant Rod Breslau, N0tail is now the highest-earning esports player of all-time which his total Dota 2 prize money nearing $7 million over his amazing career. Can't wait for Rod to explain this to Fox News tomorrow, but it is amazing to see a video game tournament prize pool truly compete with the likes of professional sports events like The Masters golf tourney or even Wimbledon.
With Dota 2, Valve has truly found an awesome equation for a successful esport. A majority of the prize pool was funded by the Dota community via Battle Pass purchases, and that speaks to the massive audience for esports. Next year's International will be held in Stockholm, Sweden. For now, we will all have to look back at a great TI9. Shanghai didn't get to see their home town boys PSG.LGD win it all, but they certainly were gracious hosts. Keep it locked on Shacknews for more wrap up coverage from TI9.