Razer, makers of game peripherals such as a mouse specifically intended for MOBAs and a controller specifically designed for Portal 2, are now trying to venture further into the world of e-Sports. They aren't doing it with gadgets, though. No, instead they are starting "The Razer Academy," a platform by which e-Sports professionals can share their knowledge with aspiring pros. Considering that e-Sport is a rapidly growing phenomenon, the existence of such a thing isn't entirely surprising, but it does seem a little random that Razer, and not some sort of gaming community site, is behind it.

Gaming tournaments are hardly a new thing. People have been playing video games against each other, tournament-style, since the dawn of time, or at least since the dawn of competitive multiplayer video games. You know what is new though? Offering a million dollars and upward to the winners. No, these aren't Call of Duty tournaments or some other kind of twitch shooter, we're talking MOBAs. If you aren't familiar, MOBAs are Multiplayer Online Battle Areas, a style of game born from the Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients. For the launch of DOTA 2 (which is a confusing topic in and of itself), Valve is holding a DOTA 2 tournament (streaming live here) and handing out 1 million buckaroonies to the champ.

This isn't the first time a video game tournament has had a "big" payout. Last year, GSL (Global Starcraft League) offered the equivalent of $500,000 U.S. in prizes, but that was over a series of tournaments where each grand prize was around $85,000 and runners-up around $25,000. Needless to say, this DOTA 2 tournament (which is based on an unreleased game no less) blows GSL out of the water when it comes to largest lump prize. But that's not even the half of it.