OREANDA-NEWS. The Russian team won the largest championship in the game Dota 2 for the first time. Before that, Russian cybersportsmen took only 5-6 places in the significant competition. The total prize money for the championship this year equalled $ 40 million. This is a record for esports.

$ 18 million was promised to the prize-winners for winning the largest annual Dota 2 esports tournament, The International 2021. Team Spirit became the first Russian team to win this competition. Prior to that, the Virtus Pro team had the best results among cybersportsmen from Russia. In 2015, 2017 and 2018, she ranked fifth to sixth.

This year the total prize pool of the tournament was $ 40 million - a record in the history of esports. This amount was helped by fans of the Dota 2 game. They made in-game purchases in a special catalog. 25% of all microtransactions made through it went directly to The International's prize pool. Team Spirit has won over $ 18 million, while the silver medalists - Team China - received just over $ 5 million. Bronze medalists - the national team from Europe - 3.6 million.

Esports are at their peak of popularity right now. And the pandemic has further spurred interest in this kind of competition. Until the tournament in 2021, The International 2019 became the largest in terms of the prize pool. 18 teams then competed for just over $ 34 million. The first place and 15.5 million went to the European team. That same 2019, the Fortnite World Cup Finals had a prize pool of just over $ 15 million.