A German-run league announced Wednesday, Feb. 25 that it will invest at least a million dollars for its virtual gaming tournaments.

Electronic Sports League (ESL) One which is operated by a Germany-based company, Turtle Entertainment, said on its website that it will increase the total prize pool for its premiere Dota 2 tournament series to $1 million.

“We’re starting with ESL One Frankfurt 2015 in June this year, where the prize money has been raised from US$150,000 to US$250,000 — and this is just the beginning,” Managing Director of Pro Gaming at ESL, Ulrich Schulze, said. “ESL One is here to set a new standard for professional Dota 2 events at this level. We’re dedicated to pushing the boundaries, and giving players from around the world more chances to make their careers as professional gamers is a key aspect of that.”

Dota 2 is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game which pits two teams with the goal of destroying the opposition’s central structure.

ESL One Dota 2 will have a combined prize pool across its tournament series of $1 million, with each tournament having a base prize pool of $250,000. It will run for 12 months, kicking off with ESL One Frankfurt 2015 this June to be held at Commerzbank Arena, Germany. Other future tournaments in the series will take place in “iconic stadiums and arenas” around the world.

ESL One Dota 2 debuted last year and hosted two tournaments: ESL One Frankfurt and ESL One New York held at Commerzbank Arena, Germany and Madison Square Garden Theater, USA respectively.

ESL (founded 1997) is the oldest running eSports league in the world. It continuously organizes tournaments for various eSports titles such as Dota 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), League of Legends (LoL) and others.

Source: ESL One Gaming

Featured image grabbed from ESL One Gaming.

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