$6M Dota 2 championship: The largest prize pool ever in e-sports — and it's still growing

This July, gamers from all over the world will fly into Seattle to partake in and watch one of the biggest e-sports events on the globe.

The International, developer Valve’s championship for its free-to-play online action-strategy game Dota 2, begins July 18 in Seattle’s Key Arena, and this year’s event is the biggest one yet. That’s not just in terms of the people watching in person and online but also in terms of the amount of money at stake. Dota 2 fans have pushed the overall prize pool of The International over $6 million, and that number will only get bigger between now and the start of the tournament.