On Thursday, this weekend's The International, the fourth annual Dota 2 gaming tournament hosted by the game's creators at Valve, received a giant mainstream shot in the arm in the form of an ESPN partnership.

According to a Valve Software statement sent to Ars, the USA's largest cable sports network will air "all the matches, interviews, and analysis happening over the course of the four-day event on ESPN3," the company's Internet-only streaming service. More importantly, the network cable station ESPN2 will air a half-hour preview of the tournament's final match this Sunday at 8:30pm PST, which will include gameplay highlights, analysis, and an interview with Valve co-founder Gabe Newell.

American TV networks, sports and otherwise, have rarely dabbled in airing e-sports, with the major exception of a Sunday-morning MLG series that aired on the USA cable network in the mid-2000s. CBS Interactive inked its own MLG deal in 2012, but that move only brought e-sports to online properties such as Gamespot. ESPN's half-hour "preview" special, while outside the "live finals" coverage fans might hope for, will still enjoy a remarkably visible spot in ESPN2's Sunday evening lineup.

ESPN's e-sports interest has rarely fallen outside the world of EA Sports' Madden NFL games, including the reality TV series Madden Nation, but The International may have gotten through to ESPN thanks to its $10 million prize pool this year, a number that has soundly exceeded many other mainstream sports competitions. [Update: MLG reps reminded us that they partnered with the X Games in April, and that portions of that gaming competition aired on ESPN and ABC.]

According to Valve, ESPN3's streaming coverage will mirror the streams hosted on Valve's site "in full throughout the weekend." As of press time, WatchESPN.com has not updated its listings to include Dota 2 coverage.