Valve today announced that coverage of The International Dota 2 Championships will be presented in collaboration with ESPN on its live multi-screen sports network, ESPN3. In addition, an exclusive show previewing the final match will be presented on ESPN2 on Sunday at 8:30 pm Pacific. Live access to ESPN2 is also available on digital platforms via WatchESPN.
This year’s International, happening at a sold out KeyArena in Seattle, WA this Friday thru Monday (July 18th-22nd), features a record-breaking prize pool of over $10 mil – the largest ever for a competitive gaming tournament. 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.
On Sunday, viewers can tune in to ESPN2 for an exclusive preview of the tournament’s final match, featuring highlights from the games, expert analysis, plus interviews with the players and Valve’s Gabe Newell.
“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.”
The International was first held in Cologne, Germany during the 2011 Gamescom with 16 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world competing for a grand prize of $1 million.
In 2013 the prize pool was bolstered beyond Valve’s contribution by Dota 2 player participation in the Interactive Compendium, driving the total prize pool to over $2.8 million, up from $1.6 million.
This year the Compendium has driven the prize pool over $10 million.
Dota 2 is a free-to-play, online action strategy game created by Valve (Bellevue, WA based makers of multiple game franchises and the leading online distribution platform, Steam).
Official Website: http://www.dota2.com
Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/570/
ESPN: http://www.WatchESPN.com
Trailer:
Screenshots:
