14 DAY TRIAL // Valve announces that the Dota 2 annual championship The International will be presented on ESPN3, the online branch of the sports coverage network.
Dota 2 is a highly competitive multiplayer online battle arena game based on a WarCraft III mod, where two teams of five members each compete on a symmetrical, three-lane map, attempting to destroy each other's main base, mainly by incrementally gaining advantage until a play for the win can be made.
This year's edition of The International takes places at the KeyArena in Seattle, from July 18 through July 22, where participants will be competing against each other for a piece of the massive, partly crowdfunded $10 million / €7.4 million prize pool.
All matches, interviews, and game analysis commentary broadcast on ESPN3 will also be accessible online through browsers, consoles, the mobile app, and streaming boxes.
In addition to this, a show previewing the final match will be presented on ESPN2 on Sunday, July 20, at 8:30 PM PDT / Monday, July 21, at 3:30 AM GMT. The feature will show various highlights from the games, complete with expert analysis, as well as interviews with the players and Valve's Gabe Newell.
This is one of the first instances of ESPN bringing eSports to its platforms, preceded by June's Major League Gaming players competing at ESPN's XGames event in Austin. The announcement is likely only the beginning of the push for a stronger eSports presence on mainstream media platforms.