TI 2026 prize pool breakdown, team payouts, and the new structure
TI 2026 prize pool breakdown. $1.6M base from Valve (no Battle Pass / Compendium crowdfunding for 2026). Here's the full team-by-team payout, the year-over-year trend, and how it compares to peer tournaments.
The TI 2026 prize pool at a glance
The International 2026 prize pool is $1.6M USD — Valve's base pool, with no Battle Pass or Compendium crowdfunding. Valve retired the Battle Pass / Compendium model after TI 2023, and the 2024-2026 TIs have all been fixed at the $1.6M base.
This is the third consecutive TI with a $1.6M base. Before that, the pool was inflated by the Battle Pass crowdfunding:
- 2021: $1.6M base + $38.4M crowdfunded = $40.0M (peak)
- 2022: $1.6M base + $0 crowdfunded = $1.6M (Battle Pass cancelled mid-cycle)
- 2023: $1.6M base + $0.4M crowdfunded = $2.0M (final Battle Pass)
- 2024: $1.6M base + $0 crowdfunded = $1.6M
- 2025: $1.6M base + $0 crowdfunded = $1.6M
- 2026: $1.6M base + $0 crowdfunded = $1.6M
The $1.6M base
Valve's base pool has been $1.6M for every TI since 2022. The pool is split:
- 25% to the players ($400K)
- 75% to Valve + the team organizations ($1.2M, per the standard DPC agreement)
The exact split between Valve and the orgs varies by contract, but the player share is fixed at 25% of the total pool.
Team payout breakdown (25% player pool)
With a $1.6M total pool, the player pool is $400K. The distribution:
| Place | % of player pool | Payout (per team) | Payout (per player, 5-person roster) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (Champion) | 45% | $720,000 | $144,000 each |
| 2nd (Runner-up) | 16% | $256,000 | $51,200 each |
| 3rd-4th | 9% each | $144,000 each | $28,800 each |
| 5th-6th | 6% each | $96,000 each | $19,200 each |
| 7th-8th | 4.5% each | $72,000 each | $14,400 each |
| 9th-12th | 2.5% each | $40,000 each | $8,000 each |
| 13th-16th | 1% each | $16,000 each | $3,200 each |
The coach and substitute players are paid out of the team share, not separately. The standard 5-player starting roster gets the per-player number; the 6th and 7th roster spots (sub and coach) typically get a smaller cut negotiated with the org.
The 2026 field
16 teams are competing for the pool. The full list:
Direct invites (7) — based on 2025-2026 DPC standings:
- Team Falcons (EU) — TI 2024 + TI 2025 champion
- Team Liquid (EU) — TI 2025 runner-up
- Iron Wing (EU) — 1w Team / ex-Tundra Esports (broadcast tag)
- Xtreme Gaming (China)
- BoomBoys (CIS) — BetBoom Team's broadcast tag
- Aurora Gaming (CIS)
- Team Yandex (CIS)
Regional qualifiers (9):
- Team Spirit (EU) — TI 2021 + TI 2023 champion
- TEAM VISION (EU) — PARIVISION's broadcast tag
- Nigma Galaxy (EU)
- HULIGANI (EU) — L1GA TEAM's broadcast tag
- Vici Gaming (China)
- Team Resilience (China)
- OG (SEA) — first TI since 2022
- GamerLegion (NA)
- LGD Gaming (SA)
Rebranded teams (4) — Valve prohibits gambling sponsors on the TI broadcast. 4 teams play under rebranded tags:
- Iron Wing = 1w Team (ex-Tundra Esports)
- BoomBoys = BetBoom Team
- TEAM VISION = PARIVISION
- HULIGANI = L1GA TEAM
The rosters and form are unchanged — only the broadcast tag is different.
Regional breakdown
The 16 teams represent 6 regions:
- EU (8): Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Iron Wing, Team Spirit, TEAM VISION, Nigma Galaxy, HULIGANI, plus Aurora + Team Yandex (CIS teams playing through EU)
- CN (3): Xtreme Gaming, Vici Gaming, Team Resilience
- CIS (2): Aurora Gaming, Team Yandex, BoomBoys (BetBoom is CIS despite the EU qualifier)
- SEA (1): OG
- NA (1): GamerLegion
- SA (1): LGD Gaming
The 8 EU-region teams (including CIS players in the EU qualifier) are a TI record. The merger of East + West EU qualifiers in 2026 enabled this.
How this compares to peer tournaments
- LoL Worlds 2025: $2.5M prize pool (Riot guarantees the full pool)
- CS2 IEM Cologne 2025: $1M prize pool (ESL-organized)
- Valorant Champions 2025: $2.25M prize pool (Riot)
- Dota 2 TI 2026: $1.6M (Valve, no crowdfunding)
- CS2 Majors 2025: $1.25M each
TI 2026 is in the middle of the pack for major esport tournament prize pools. It's not the highest (LoL Worlds), but it's not the lowest either. The peak TI prize pool was 2021 at $40M, which was inflated by the Battle Pass crowdfunding model that Valve retired.
Why TI prize pools dropped
The TI prize pool peaked in 2021 at $40M because the Battle Pass was bundled with a massive cosmetic grind (the Aghanim's Labyrinth, the cavern crawl, the monthly release cadence). That grind generated $38M in crowdfunded revenue. Valve's 2022 redesign of the Battle Pass removed the grind, and the prize pool dropped to $1.6M almost immediately.
The 2023 Battle Pass was the final one with significant crowdfunding ($0.4M added). After the 2023 TI, Valve retired the Battle Pass / Compendium model entirely and the prize pool has been fixed at the $1.6M base since then.
The Dota 2 community's reaction to the dropping prize pool has been mixed:
- Pro players: Generally neutral. The 25% player share is still $360K for the winners, which is a life-changing amount.
- Org owners: Negative. The lower prize pool means the orgs get less from the 75% cut, which is the bulk of Dota 2 team revenue.
- Viewers: Mixed. Some see the lower pool as a sign of declining Dota 2 health, others see it as a correction from the unsustainable 2021 peak.
What's at stake for the 16 teams
The 16 teams in the field have spent the last 18 months preparing for this tournament. The 7 direct-invite teams are the favorites, but the 9 regional qualifier teams have all had Cinderella runs in their domestic leagues.
FAQ
What is the TI 2026 prize pool? $1.6M from Valve. Fixed, no crowdfunding in 2026.
How much does the winning team get? 45% of the pool goes to the champion. With a $1.6M pool, that's $720,000 for the team (split among the 5 players + coach + sub).
Is the prize pool growing this year? No. The Battle Pass was retired after TI 2023, so the 2024-2026 TIs all have a fixed $1.6M pool.
Where can I watch? The official PGL English broadcast is at twitch.tv/dota2ti and youtube.com/dota2. OFFLANE's TI 2026 hub at offlane.xyz/dota2/ti-2026 has the embedded live player plus a popout-to-mini-player link.
About 5 minutes read.
