The International 3 begins, prize pool over $2.8 million
Valve's The International 3 championships for DOTA 2 kicked off this week with a prize pool worth $2.8 million, the biggest for a single event in eSports history, Gamespot reported on Saturday.
The event began on August 2 with a 1v1 Solo Championship and a Wild Card match. The roster for the Solo Championship and the upcoming All-Star match were chosen by fans using the Compendium, an interactive tool that rewards players with virtual item drops for predicting the outcome of matches. Each purchase of the $10 Compendium contributes $2.50 to the prize pool.
Valve writer Ted Kosmatka tweeted that The International had 400,000 concurrent viewers during its first day. Riot's Season 2 Championship series for League of Legends peaked at 1.1 million concurrent viewers last year, making it the most-watched competitive gaming event of all time.
The International's main event begins on August 7 and will conclude on August 11.
