In 2020, live events faced significant challenges in the esports industry and the world as a whole due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these circumstances, esports maintained its strong online presence and achieved record-breaking viewership numbers. Games like League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty, and others experienced extensive audience growth.
Esports industry rebounded and showcased its growth through various significant events in 2020. Let’s take a look at some of them.
League of Legends 2020 World Championship
This year’s League of Legends World Championship surpassed all previous viewership records. According to esports viewership statistics website Esports Charts, the tournament garnered over 139 million hours watched, making it the most-watched esports tournament of all time. The grand final match between Suning and DAMWON Gaming peaked at over 3.8 million viewers, the second-highest for a League of Legends match.
Free Fire Continental Series Asia Opening Round
Free Fire, a popular mobile battle royale game, gained immense popularity in the esports scene this year. The Continental Series Asia Opening Round attracted over 2.5 million peak viewers during its grand finals and maintained an average viewership of 828,000 throughout the eight-hour air time.
IEM Katowice 2020
IEM Katowice 2020, one of the earliest tournaments impacted by the pandemic, still managed to gather nearly 18 million hours watched. The grand final match between G2 Esports and Natus Vincere garnered over 1 million concurrent viewers and an average viewership of 280,000.
2020 LCK Regional Finals
The LCK, Korea’s domestic League of Legends league, experienced exceptional viewership numbers during its regional finals. Matches averaged over 500,000 views, and the final qualifying match between T1 and Gen.G reached a peak viewer count of over 1 million. T1 was the standout team of the tournament, with its matches attracting around 1 million views each.
Despite the challenges faced by esports in 2020, League of Legends and other games demonstrated their ability to adapt and maintain strong viewership. The industry proved its resilience and continued to engage its core audience throughout the uncertain times.