3 Most Watched Esports Tournaments of All Time

Esports tournaments, especially major events hosted by developers or big organizers in partnership attract a lot of audiences. These tournaments act as a great alternative entertainment, especially for people who play the game on a regular basis. Things are getting so competitive that video games are now competing for the most-watched esports title.

With gaming reaching the mainstream, the number of viewers is also increasing each year with many popular games reaching millions in viewer count. The train started with PC games, however, the audience for mobile gaming is also matching the hype and people might be surprised to find out the current top three.

Here are the most-watched esports tournament

3. Mobile Legends M5 World Championship

MOBA games have lots of fans and by the rule of thumb, popular things work out be it mobile or PC. Mobile Legends is one of the most popular MOBA titles on mobile. It started as a League of Legends alternative since Riot Games did not seize the opportunity early and became quite popular.

Over the years, Mobile Legends grew in popularity and so did its esports scene which started bringing millions. The 2023 M5 world championship in particular was on its way to reach the top in viewership charts but remained a bit shy from breaking the at-the-time top viewership record with 5 million viewers.

2. Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore

The early days of Free Fire saw an incredible amount of players try out the Battle Royale game from Garena on Mobile. With an increase in popularity, the game quickly built an esports scene which regularly brought millions in viewership on a regular basis.

However, things changed during the 2021 Free Fire World Series where the game surpassed even PUBG Mobile in terms of viewership to create a new viewership record at 5.4 million. Since then, the game hasn’t been able to recreate the same phenomenon but remains quite popular in the mobile gaming community.

1. League of Legends World Championship 2024

The 2024 Worlds was one of the most exciting esports tournaments with the grand finals between T1 and Bilibili Gaming bringing over 6.85 million viewers. While the game is already quite popular, the numbers were likely due to T1 being the defending champion from the previous year.

Worlds 2023 saw Faker finally lift the trophy after a long break and with the team reaching the grand finals once again, fans were there to witness the best League of Legends player defend his name, which he did after an intense match against Bilibili Gaming. This was also the moment when League of Legends broke its viewership record created a year before.

Also Read:Top 5 Mobile Games In India

Why is League of Legends so popular?

League of Legends is one of the oldest esports titles released more than a decade ago. If we are talking about a quick reason why the game is so popular, it’s free-to-play and runs on the lowest specifications making it a good choice in online games. However, this isn’t the only reason for its continued success.

There are a lot of other factors at work here including constant updates bringing new legends and cosmetics. The game can also get very complex and requires individual skills along with teamwork which attracts certain types of players. A global esports scene and content creators also help the game reach a wider audience.