Most Watched League of Legends Events
League of Legends is bigger than most of us can imagine. The online battle game has grown their fans into the millions. Not only that, when there is a League of Legends championship event the amount of people who come just to spectate is mind boggling. The popularity of this video game grows year of year, and you can feel the contagious fervor build when you watch one of the championship series events.
North American Championships
This past spring, League of Legends had their annual North America championship series finals in Missouri. Over 10,000 fans of the game bought tickets just to be a part of the atmosphere. They came to watch some of their favorite professional gamers play in the finals of a game they love so dearly.
While it was a huge event with great success, those who couldn’t be there physically did have the option to watch online, and boy did they! Over 600,000 viewers logged in to watch the championship series and celebrate the esport with the thousands who were there. The viewership numbers rival that of traditional stadium sports, and it’s only expected to grow.
Huge International Numbers
Another League of Legends event drew in huge numbers as well. This winter, the world championships that were held in South Korea obliterated the North American numbers easily. After the finals wrapped up, it was determined that nearly 100 million viewers logged on to watch the professional teams play. That is around two million more viewers than the previous year’s Super Bowl!
For those who were lucky enough to snag a ticket to watch the international event ended up being a part of history. Tickets sold out in mere hours which prompted the game’s creators to release a few thousand more. In all, 26,000 fans were present at the South Korea finals.
It Just Keeps Growing
League of Legends knows they need to secure much larger venues in the near future to adequately house these championship events. Every year, they have more fans purchasing tickets, more sponsors searching for teams, and more players who are participating in the esport.
Since the game is growing so rapidly, League of Legends has had to fix growing pains that come with the territory. Last year, they had to start a franchise-based configuration for the North American league because it was growing so fast. The buy-in fee to claim a part of esports history? A whopping $10 million!
There is no doubt that League of Legends and other popular video games can be extremely lucrative. Championship events alone bring in huge dollars for the creators, and the train just keeps on going. There is a huge interest in the sport not only on the sponsorship side but on the fan and gamer side as well. Next spring, League of Legends plans to have their annual championships stateside. It is going to be intriguing to see the viewership and attendance numbers roll in for it. There’s no doubt we are going to be left speechless.
