The world final of the tournament took place last weekend DOTA 2, which saw the victory of Russia, represented by the Team Spirit. The athletes took home a huge cash prize and the congratulations of President Putin himself, a rather evident sign of how esports are an increasingly central theme and consequently also taken into consideration by politics.
Russia’s victory at the DOTA 2 World Cup
Team Spirit made it: the Russian team took the Aegis a The International 2021, the tournament that is celebrated every year against the backdrop of the Dota 2 videogame. Given the prestigious occasion, the cash prize was no exception, given that we are talking about the highest prize pool in the history of esports. Well 18.2 million dollars to be shared among the five team members.
Given the great victory of the athletes, he even congratulated them Vladimir Putin in person, who expressed his satisfaction with the team.
Here is his message in full version:
“Congratulations on your well deserved victory at The International 2021, the DOTA 2 world tournament. For the first time in history, the Russians of Team Spirit have won this prestigious competition. Well done! On the way to the final you have shown incredible leadership and solidarity skills. In the decisive match, which was a testing ground for skills and personality, you managed to stay focused and prevent opponents from reacting at crucial moments. It has therefore been shown that our exporters are capable of achieving global objectives and have no limits. “
Of course the fact that it was the president himself who congratulated the team is indicative, as well as a clear sign that the importance of esports globally is growing. Just a few years ago, such a political resonance would have been unthinkable, in fact, without counting the cash prize itself, so high that it appealed to many.
A huge satisfaction for the team
There were many factors contributing to the victory of Team Spirits, but the main one is certainly the remarkable preparation of the individual members of the group. The team is based in Moscow, ed it is the first in Eastern Europe to win since Ukraine Natus Vincere (Na’Vi). The one won by the Na’Vi was the very first edition of The International, which was played at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, in 2011.
Obviously, since that day, a lot of water has passed under the bridge and the export phenomenon has completely changed face, especially as regards the cash prize. Back then the prize pool was “only” one million dollars, while this year’s total was well $ 40 million among first, second and third classified.
It must be said that the value of the prize money is partly the result of environmental circumstances. In fact, in 2020 the tournament did not take place due to COVID and last year’s prize pool merged into the 2021 edition, bringing the figures to numbers never seen before.
Unfortunately, however, even this year, despite the attempts, the event was played without the presence of the public due to the provisions of the Hungarian government for the health emergency.