COMMENT: Despite good Dota and great matches, TI 2023's low stakes hurt the hype

I've watched almost every version of Dota 2's The International (TI), starting from TI3. But TI12 in 2023 feels the lowest stakes of them all.

The prize pool is miniscule at just over US$3 million, compared to previous TIs, with no lifechanging amount for the winners. At most, they share around US$1.4 million, compared to say TI10, where Team Spirit took home a sweet US$18 million share of the US$40 million pot.

With the dominance of Western Europe teams, and the absolute failure of South American squads, this TI is going to be unsurprising for those who have been following the Dota Pro Circuit for the year. There isn't quite an underdog story — maybe Talon Esports has a shot as the lone remaining SEA squad, but I'm not optimistic.

Perhaps Chinese teams could finally have their moment under the sun, retaking TI after a super-long dry spell. There have been no Chinese TI winners since 2016 where Wings Gaming tore through the competition in their unique style.

LGD Gaming and Azure Ray had decent performance in the group stages, and the veterans on the teams should have the mental fortitude and composure to perhaps win TI at long last.

But as much as I try to hype it out, there's nothing to really compel me to watch.

Sure, the group stages had more viewers than last year, but I suspect this is mostly due to the more convenient time zone, which is prime NA timing, as well as being in the evening in Europe. Asian viewers will likely only tune in the in their morning, since the games usually start like 4am their time.

Just not as epic?

Winning this TI just doesn't feel as epic as previous competitions, and there isn't even a last chance team that fought their way to the top like last year's TI which saw Secret and Team Liquid going all the way from the Last Chance Qualifiers. The winner of TI12 is likely to be a European team, unless crazy upsets happen.

Furthermore, it also doesn't help that the Main Event is split into two weekends:

Playoffs Weekend and Finals Weekend. This completely kills all the hype of the a team going on a streak, and also the anticipation of watching your favourite team go on a tear and reaching the top.

Not everyone has two weekends to spare watching what used to be the world's biggest esports tournament.

Lastly, it's missing an engaging compendium. That means unlike previous years, I didn't spend any cash, or log into the game to grind the cavern crawl. There's no PVE mode such as Aghanim's Labyrinth to drum up hype, too. That's reflected in the prize pool, too, which is usually powered by fans.

My colleague Kurt has a great piece on why this is bad for the scene, which you should check out.

Like everyone else, I'll probably try to commit to the Finals Weekend, but I'm not too particularly invested in which team actually makes it there.

I will be surprised if Gaimin Gladiators, Tundra, or Shopify Rebellion fail to make it there. Okay, maybe not the last, given just how the squad always flunks out when it matters.

TI 2023 is currently in its Road to The International Playoffs phase in the Seattle Convention Center's Summit, where the 16 remaining teams will be fighting from 20 to 22 October to be among the eight that will make it to the Main Event.

The International Main Event will be hosted in the Climate Pledge Arena from 27 to 29 October, where this year's Dota 2 world champion will be crowned in the Grand Finals on 29 October.

For everything you need to know about TI 2023, check here.

Aloysius Low is an ex-CNET editor with more than 15 years of experience. He's really into cats and is currently reviewing products at canbuyornot.com. Views expressed are his own.

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