Updated Friday, May 11, 2012 at 01:14 PM
One of the major competitive events in video gaming is coming to Seattle this summer.
Bellevue game giant Valve is holding a $1 million "Dota 2" tournament at Benaroya Hall over Labor Day weekend. The event coincides with the PAX gaming conference in Seattle.
Valve began the annual tournament last year with an event in Cologne, Germany, where 16 teams competed in a group-stage, double elimination playoff format for the $1 million prize. The runner-up team received $250,000.
Total payouts in the Seattle tournament will be at least $1.6 million, according to an interview Valve's Erik Johnson gave fan site joinDota.
"Dota" is a wildly successful, multiplayer, online fantasy game derived from "Warcraft III." Valve's now testing "Dota 2" and plans to release it for the PC later this year.
Details such as ticket information will be released in the coming weeks, Valve said in a brief news release.
Here's a Valve image of last year's winning team, from Ukraine:
To get an idea of what's involved, check out this video of last year's finals:
Mere mortals may consider trying for the $50,000 stuffed in a duffel bag - plus a custom Xbox - that GameStop is giving away to promote console shooter "Max Payne 3."
