Valve today announced that the large-scale The International DOTA 2 Championships tournament will be broadcast on ESPN 3.
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An exclusive preview of the finals will also be aired on ESPN 2. ESPN 3 is the online, multi-screen streaming service the sports network provides, which can be accessed by logging in with your cable provider.
"This year's International, happening at a sold out KeyArena in Seattle, WA this Friday thru Monday (July 18-22), features a record-breaking prize pool of over $10 mil - the largest ever for a competitive gaming tournament," Valve posted on its website.
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"And for the first time, viewers can watch all the matches, interviews, and analysis happening over the course of the four-day event on ESPN3, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360, and Xbox One."
The ESPN 2 exclusive preview will air on Sunday before the finals and will feature highlights, analysis and interviews with players and Valve's Gabe Newell. Competitive gaming has appeared on ESPN in the past, notably Halo tournaments many years ago, but something this large-scale is a positive sign for the industry and community.
"From the success of the Compendium to the collaboration with ESPN, this year's International really demonstrates how much competitive gaming has grown to rival traditional sports," said Erik Johnson of Valve. "We believe the teams have also pushed to a new level of play this year and will further demonstrate the incredible advances made across this tournament since it first began three short years ago."
