Blizzard’s World of Warcraft Classic esports tournament disappoints with low viewership
Blizzard’s recent World of Warcraft Classic esports tournament, the Summer Bowl finals, failed to attract a large audience, with an average of around 5,000 viewers. Despite the tournament featuring popular broadcast talent, an in-game spectator mode, and top players from the Classic community, there were several factors that may have contributed to its lackluster appeal compared to previous WoW esports events.
Small prize pool
The prize pool for the Summer Bowl finals was relatively low, with only $4,000 per region. This paled in comparison to other WoW esports competitions like the Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International. Even Classic Duelers’ League tournaments, organized by former Method streamer Tipsout, had bigger prize pools.
Top teams and guilds compete
Despite the small prize pool, the tournament managed to attract some of the world’s best Classic guilds and their top players. Guilds like APES, known for their World First kills on bosses like Ragnaros and Onyxia, had multiple teams representing them in the European finals.
Lower viewership compared to Classic Duelers’ League
The viewership for the Summer Bowl finals fell short of what the Classic Duelers’ League had achieved. The European finals of the one-vs-one fighting competition garnered an average of 8,684 viewers on Tipsout’s Twitch channel, with a significantly higher peak viewership of 13,030. The straightforward nature of one-vs-one fighting may have been more appealing to a broader audience, similar to popular fighting games during events like Evo.
However, some may argue that the grassroots, community-driven nature of the Classic Duelers’ League gives it more significance in the WoW community. In recent years, Race to World First events organized by the community have consistently attracted larger audiences than official Blizzard events like the Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International.
It’s unclear what exactly contributed to the underwhelming viewership of the Summer Bowl event. For WoW Classic to thrive in the esports space, Blizzard needs to fully commit and actively support it, as relying solely on the community may not generate significant interest.