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After lifting the aegis in a surprise upset, Team Spirit bagged a prize money of $18 million this year, the highest 1st place prize so far in the history of Dota 2 TI.
The prize pool of The International invariably goes up by a good amount each year. Compared to League of Legends Worlds' lower amount of $2,225,000, the Dota 2 TI 10 total prize pool was $40,018,195.
This incremental prize pool in Internationals does not come from Valve's deep pockets, unlike other tier-1 Dota 2 events. TI is essentially a crowd-funded tournament, and its prize pool is an indicator of how much people are willing to invest into the Dota 2 Battle Pass.
In any case, the exorbitant prize pool means whoever wins first place in TI gets to climb the leaderboards of high-earning esports player. The 2018-2019 OG roster reigns supreme in this leaderboard, due to their back-to-back TI winnings.
Richest Dota 2 players (largely due to winning TI)
5. Topias "Topson" Taavitseinen
Total esports earnings: $5,693,012
Before being picked up by OG, Topson was an unproven pubstar pocketing triple-digit prizes from tier-3 Dota 2 events. His pubstar energy in the mid lane, in fact, jibes well with OG's unpreditability. In TI 8 and TI 9, Topson was consistently one of the top midlaners, clashing against the finest in the world of Dota 2 - such as Amer "Miracle" Al-Barkawi.
4. Sebastian "Ceb" Debs
Total esports earnings: $5,776,356
The only French player to win TI, Ceb's Dota 2 career had hit the verge of retirement - first in his post-Alliance days, and then after he won TI 9 with OG. On both occasions, he bounced back in kind. After a decade-long career of playing the offlane, coaching, and casting, Ceb has recently announced his retirement from the competitive scene.
3. Anathan "ana" Pham
Total esports earnings: $6,008,163
Heralded as one of the most talented Dota 2 players of all time, ana was arguably the keystone to OG's success. Along with the rest of the OG ensemble, he is one of the few players to lift the aegis twice.
Moreover, he is the only carry player bold enough to make outrageous ideas like carry IO work, with a 6-0 win-loss record on the hero on TI 9 main stage.
2. Jesse "Jerax" Vainikka
Total esports earnings: $6,470,680
Jerax is arguably the most popular position 4 player of all time, barring Maroun "Gh" Merhej. Unbeknownst to many, his life outside of Dota is as colorful as his in-game plays. Prior to and in-between his career, he has been a man of many professions, including stand-up comedy and the Swedish navy.
He is also the only player to have participated in four consecutive Majors in 2016 and 2017, first from Team Liquid, and then from OG.
1. Johan "N0tail" Sundstein
Total esports earnings: $7,176,371
As the richest Dota 2 player, few can match the popularity of "BigDaddy" N0tail. He is arguably what gives OG its identity and philosophy of camradarie and chemistry over individual talent.
With first-place standings in two Internationals and four Majors to his name, N0tail is also one of the most versatile Dota 2 players, renowned both as a carry in the past and as a hard support at present.
