The International 2014 Dota 2 Championships to be Broadcast on ESPN

Video game developer and publisher Valve has announced today a partnership with ESPN to bring the upcoming Dota 2 tournament to a global scale.

The International 2014 Dota 2 Championship will be broadcasted live on ESPN3 while an exclusive preview show highlighting the tournament’s final match will air on ESPN2. The preview show will also include highlights, analysis, and interview with players and Valve’s own Gabe Newell.

The ESPN3 broadcast will be available on smartphones, tablets, Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 in addition to its live broadcast on Twitch TV. The tournament will begin airing 12:00pm PST / 3:00pm EST this Friday, July 18.

“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,” Valve’s Erik Johnson said in a press release.

E-sports is certainly gaining momentum. A partnership between ESPN and MLG was also struck last June when a Call of Duty: Ghosts tournament was aired during the X Games in Austin, TX. MOBA game League of Legends filled LA’s Staple Center with its own championship tournament last year. Talks of a tournament similar to Dota 2’s The International are also in the works for Valve’s popular competitive PC shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Will you be following the Dota 2 action this weekend?

Thanks, USA Today

10 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Top Games and Upcoming Releases