Ninjas in Pyjamas Defeat Counter Logic Gaming in Opening Game of ESL One Cologne
In the opening game of ESL One Cologne, Ninjas in Pyjamas emerged victorious over Counter Logic Gaming with a close scoreline of 16-13. However, the real surprise came from the massive viewership numbers, as 735,000 people tuned in to watch the best-of-one match on Twitch and in-game client.
Record-Breaking Viewership Expected at ESL One Cologne
The grand final of ESL One Katowice in March set a record with 1 million concurrent viewers. The opening game of ESL One Cologne is already inching closer to this impressive viewership, indicating that record-breaking numbers may be achieved today.
EnvyUs vs. Flipsid3 Game Attracts Impressive Viewership
In the opener of Group B, team EnvyUs faced off against Flipsid3 on the second stream. Despite being a secondary stream, the game still managed to attract a total of 247,000 viewers. When combined with the viewership of the first game, the two matches were only 40,000 viewers shy of reaching the numbers seen in the Katowice final.
Expectations for Day One of ESL One Cologne
As the day progresses and North American viewers start tuning in, it is anticipated that the tournament will continue to achieve record-breaking viewership, particularly with popular teams like Fnatic, Virtus pro, and Cloud9 yet to play.
The event’s first day will feature 10 more group stage matches before the groups are re-shuffled for the secondary stage tomorrow. Out of the 16 teams participating, four will advance to the playoff stage, while the remaining 12 will battle it out for one of the eight spots in the playoffs and a chance to compete for a share of the $250,000 prize pool.
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