Selling virtual hats must have ended up being a fairly lucrative business venture, as Valve announced today that it will use the upcoming Gamescom trade show to host "The International," a Dota 2 tournament with a million-dollar first-place prize. Let that sink in for a second. A million dollars.

To put that in perspective, the first-place prize for Starcraft 2 at last weekend's Major League Gaming Pro Circuit was 5 percent of that at $50,000. According to Valve, "the 16 best Dota teams in the world" will compete in a "group stage, double elimination playoff format" competition over the duration of the show. The tournament will also serve as the controversial action-RTS' public debut, and what better way to get some attention than makin' it rain. When asked to comment, Gabe Newell paused briefly in quiet contemplation before eating a handful of real diamonds.