Alliance, a professional video game team founded and sponsored by Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming systems, hardware and software, won a $1.43 million prize purse at The International 3, the annual Dota 2 world championship by Valve. The contest featured total winnings of $2.87 million, setting a record for the largest prize pool ever awarded at a competitive gaming event.

Sixteen of the world’s top Dota 2 teams, six of which were Team Razer members, participated in The International 3. The competition, hosted by the Valve Corporation, kicked-off Aug. 3 at the Benaroya Hall in Seattle, and wrapped up with the finals this past Sunday at the same venue.

“Moments like these are why we got involved in the world of eSports in its infancy, and why we sponsor more than 400 players around the world,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. “Alliance’s amazing performance, coupled with the Taipei Assassins winning League of Legends’ Season Two championship last year and more than 100 podium placements since, gives further credence to the global relevance of eSports, and to our reason for being in competitive gaming.”

Facing the 2011 champion (and 2012 runner-up) Na’Vi of Ukraine, Swedish-based Alliance won the best-of-five series,  after completing the group stage of the competition undefeated. The win came exactly four months to the day that Alliance was founded in conjunction with Razer.

“We felt confident going into the finals, but such a back-and-forth, tense match with so much on the line is not something you can ever be fully prepared for,” said Joakim "Akke" Akterhall, support player for Alliance. “Still, even though there were moments where it looked like we were behind, we persevered and kept on fighting.  Winning The International 3 is the greatest accomplishment of our professional careers.”

Alliance is just one of many teams sponsored by Razer. For more information on the rest of Team Razer, including how to play like the pros, visit www.razerzone.com/team.