The International (TI) is an annual world championship tournament for the five-on-five esports video game Dota 2. Produced by the game's developer Valve, the International is the final event of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) and consists of 20 teams: 12 based on final results from the DPC; six from North America, South America, Southeast Asia, China, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe regional leagues; and two from last-chance qualifiers. The International was first held at Gamescom in 2011 to promote the game's release. It was then held annually in Seattle, where Valve is headquartered, until it began to be hosted internationally again starting with The International 2018. The tournament's prize pool has been crowdfunded via a battle pass system within the game since 2013, with a quarter of all revenue from it directly going towards it. Internationals have the largest single-tournament prize pool of any esport event, with largest reaching 40 million. The most recent champion is Tundra Esports, who won The International 2022. OG is only repeat winner in the tournament's history, winning The International 2018 and 2019. History Early years Valve announced the first edition of The International on August 1, 2011. 16 teams were invited to compete in the tournament, which would also serve as the first public viewing of Dota 2. The tournament was funded by Valve, including the 1 million grand prize, with Nvidia supplying the hardware. It took place at Gamescom in Cologne from August 17–21 the same year. The tournament started with a group stage in which the winners of each of the four groups were entered into a winner's bracket, and the other teams entered the loser's bracket. The rest of the tournament was then played as a double-elimination tournament. The final of this inaugural tournament was between Ukrainian-based Natus Vincere and Chinese-based EHOME, with Natus Vincere winning the series 3–1. EHOME won 250,000, with the rest of the 14 teams splitting the remaining $350,000. The International as an recurring annual event was confirmed in May 2012. The International 2012 was held at the 2,500 seat Benaroya Hall in Seattle from August 31 to September 2, with teams situated in glass booths on the main stage. The total prize pool remained at $1.6 million, with $1 million for the winning team. The previous winners, Natus Vincere, were beaten 3-1 by Chinese team Invictus Gaming in the grand finals. In November 2012, Valve