For the first time in several years, the prize pool for The International 2026 has surpassed that of the previous tournament. As of August 13, it stands at approximately $2.92 million, while The International 2025 concluded with a prize pool of $2.88 million.
The core of this year’s prize pool is $1.6 million. The remainder comes from the sale of in-game content, which traditionally supplements The International’s base prize pool.
It’s worth noting the participation of the Ukrainian studio Maincast, which has received a support package for The International for the second year in a row. In 2026, the studio prepared content for three levels of the compendium at once. Among them are three phrases and two art pieces.
The current prize pool for TI 2026 still falls significantly short of previous years’ totals. The record belongs to The International 2021, when the total prize pool exceeded $40 million, and the winners received over $18 million. In subsequent years, Valve gradually changed the tournament’s funding model, resulting in a reduction in the prize pool.
Meanwhile, The International 2026 has already begun. Today, the teams played their first matches of the tournament, after which they immediately moved on to the second round of competition.
The following teams played in the opening matches:
- Team Falcons — LGD Gaming
- 1win — Nigma Galaxy
- BB Team — OG
- PARIVISION — Team Resilience
- Team Spirit — Xtreme Gaming
- Team Liquid — Vici Gaming
- Aurora Gaming — GamerLegion
- Team YNdX — Huligani
The first round is already over, and the participants are continuing their competition in the next stage. The second round kicked off today, so the teams won’t have to wait long for their next matches.
Ukrainian fans will also have to adjust to the early schedule: the next matches for viewers in Ukraine will begin around 5:00 a.m. on August 14.