Valve has worked with ESPN to bring The International to ESPN3 and ESPN2.

Big news for fans of eSports, as Valve has partnered with ESPN to broadcast Dota 2's largest tournament, The International. Partnering with the traditional sports juggernaut is a move that could potentially increase the legitimacy of eSports from an outsider's perspective. Valve's own Erik Johnson had this to say about the partnership:

"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. 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 main event will be casted through ESPN's streaming site ESPN3, while a show previewing the grand finals will be aired live on ESPN2 on Sunday at 8:30am Pacific time. You will also be able to stream the event from mobile devices using the WatchESPN application. This is a big step for eSports, and the almost $11 million dollar prize pool has surely garnered a lot of attention, even outside of the gaming sphere. Hopefully this partnership will allow all of eSports a more legitimate place in the public eye, while also driving the development of eSports as a whole.

Ian Nowakowski

Follow me! @ian_nowakowski