The total prize pool of TI8 has reached $10 million in just 12 days of launch

Dota 2: The International’s most prestigious annual tournament has once again broken records.

After just 12 days of crowdfunding, the prize pool for TI8 broke the $10 million mark – about four days earlier than last year’s tournament. This information was recorded by the Dota Prize Tracker, the tracking application created by Matthew “Cyborgmatt” bailey. This record helps TI8 surpass TI7 by 9.5%, equivalent to $800,000.

As usual, this year’s fundraising campaign is powered by the Battle Pass – this “book” includes features created by Valve in preparation for TI8. It’s the same as the first TI2 “book”, but with lots of new features like achievements that reward players with points, in-game items, and special modes. Each Battle Pass sold will contribute 25% of its revenue to the prize money.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the success of this year’s Battle Pass is the Mutation mode – a special matchmaking system that allows for customization of each game. The customizations range from simple – players will drop a bag of gold when they die – to more terrible – as all skills and items deal damage to teammates (Friendly Fire).

Of course, Friendly Fire includes all AoE moves, so heroes like Earthshaker can clear “both teams” (including himself) with their 10-man Echo Slam. In addition, buying Radiance while Friendly Fire mode is on is a bad idea because it will burn both you and your teammates, or create awkward situations in the game.

Surely, Valve will have a few more surprises for the Battle Pass in the near future. For example, last year, Valve applied a discount to the Battle Pass level after 50 days of launch, causing the tournament’s total prize pool to skyrocket in just those four days.