The CS:GO tournament ELEAGUE Boston Major 2018 ended last week with some fireworks. (Read our recap and analysis here.) Beyond the actual gameplay, the reported viewership figures are pretty impressive.
Attracting over 1.1 million concurrent viewers, the Grand Final broke the all-time record for a single Twitch channel.
Good timing for streaming
The successful event came just shortly after ELEAGUE and Twitch announced an exclusive streaming deal last week. It turned out to be the perfect time to extend their collaboration.
Over the last three weekends, multiple matches at the Major attracted viewership numbers over 1 million. With ELEAGUE only two years old, it’s a great development for WME/IMG and Turner Broadcasting’s joint venture.
“ELEAGUE and Twitch have formed an incredible partnership that has allowed ELEAGUE’s premium live event coverage to reach a highly engaged, digitally-native community of passionate fans,” said Turner Sports Executive VP of Production and Chief Content Officer Craig Barry. “The strong performance of our live event coverage on Twitch — including record-setting concurrent streams during last year’s inaugural ELEAGUE Major — speaks to why we couldn’t be more thrilled to continue this relationship.”
The Major marked Turner’s foray into 1080p remote productions. Holding the event at a new venue – the Agganis Arena in Boston – also helped achieve higher success. Features like four screens and a traditional back-of-house operations moving side-stage helped create engagement and interactivity across the whole arena.
A record ELEAGUE competition
The Boston Major stands as ELEAGUE’s most successful event in its history. The partnership with Twitch, with its massive fan base, surely contributed to the positive development.
“The massive esports fanbase on Twitch is passionate about being able to watch their favorite events as a shared experience driven by chat interaction,” said Twitch Director of Esports Programs Justin Dellario. “By partnering with Turner Sports as the exclusive third-party digital destination for live coverage of their wildly popular and record-setting ELEAGUE events, we are able to ensure our community can enjoy these competitions in the format they are most accustomed to.”
Despite the success, the team behind ELEAGUE isn’t showing signs of slowing down. The organization’s next significant CS:GO event, slated for July, will offer fans something new. Esports enthusiasts will be able to enjoy a behind-the-scenes, five-part esports documentary following pro teams and players.
