ESPN 8 'The Ocho': Schedule for Game of Thrones' 'The Mountain' and All Events

ESPN is combining DodgeBall and Game of Thrones.

The network announced on Tuesday that ESPN 8: The Ocho will replace ESPN on Saturday. The Ocho originated from the 2004 film DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, and ESPN began featuring the fictional channel on its airwaves annually on Aug. 8, 2017.

Given that sports worldwide have come to a halt during the COVID-19 crisis, ESPN is making an exception to the Aug. 8 tradition and giving fans 11 hours worth of competitions to watch on May 2.

The 11-hour slate will be led by the day's lone live event. Hafthor Bjornsson, who portrayed The Mountain on Game of Thrones and has won the Arnold Strongman Classic three times plus the 2018 World's Strongest Man, will attempt to break the world deadlift record of 1,102 pounds set by Eddie Hall in 2016.

In his announcement of the record attempt, Bjornsson explained the plan for the event: "This will be recognised as a world record as there will be an official/judge there to make the call, and the event will be held to the same high standard that competitions are. I will be making the attempt with a suit, figure 8 straps and a deadlift bar."

When ESPN was confirmed as a broadcast partner, Bjornsson added: "It’s an honour to be able to help bring the sport of strongman forward during such unsure and unprecedented times."

Full Schedule

All times Eastern

Noon: World Record Deadlift Attempt by Hafthor Bjornsson (Live)

1 p.m.: Professional Arm Wrestling

1:30 p.m.: 2006 Krystal World Hamburger Eating Competition

2:30 p.m.: E:60—Cheese Rolling, Frog Jumping, and Japanese Monster Wresting

3:30 p.m.: 2018 Classic Tetris World Championship

4 p.m.: 2019 Golden Tee World Championship

4:30 p.m.: 51st Annual Stone Skipping Competition

5:30 p.m.: 46th Annual Cherry Pit Spitting Championship

6 p.m.: Dodge Juggle

7 p.m.: Putt-Putt Championships

7:30 p.m.: 2019 Stupid Robot Fighting League

8 p.m.: 2019 World Sign Spinning

8:30 p.m.: 2019 Jelle's Marble Runs

9 p.m.: Lawn Mower Racing

9:30 p.m.: Slippery Stairs

10 p.m.: Death Diving

Schedule courtesy of ESPN

"The Ocho" was originally created as a parody network broadcasting the $50,000 Las Vegas DodgeBall Open.

"At the time I was writing DodgeBall, ESPN2 had recently started and they were calling it 'The Deuce' and I found that particularly funny," DodgeBall director Rawson Marshall Thurber told ESPN's Tony Moss in July 2018.

"And then with any comedy, you just kind of take the knob and turn it all the way to 11. Where would ESPN broadcast something as ridiculous as dodgeball? It couldn't be on ESPN 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 ... it had to be ESPN 8. And then it had to be "The Ocho"—it just kind of writes itself in that regard."

DodgeBall—starring Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Justin Long, Jason Bateman and more—became a cult classic and has taken on another life through ESPN.

ESPN2 was taken over by The Ocho on March 22 with events such as cornhole, skipping and sign-spinning, but this will mark the first time ESPN's main channel will morph into ESPN 8.