Valve announces The International is bypassing the ocho completely, and coverage of the Dota 2 tournament will appear on ESPN3 and ESPN2 over the weekend:

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 18-22), 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.