Swedish CS:GO Esports Tournament Expects Record 1.5 Million Viewership

One of the industries that have experienced explosive growth over the past few years is competitive Esports. What many people who are unfamiliar with the Esports scene may not realise is that while it is a digital medium its biggest drawcard used to be land-based events.

Much like UFC fight nights or Premier League football, Esports fans would pack out massive stadiums to watch their teams take home championship titles and, in many cases, massive cash prize purses.

A prime example of this was the 2019 Fortnite World Cup where 19,000 fans packed the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City to watch 16-year pro player Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf take home the solo title and its $3 million cash prize.

 Shifting Gears Online

The global health crisis necessitated an evolution of how many companies did business and, in this case, both local and international Esports leagues began to encourage players and fans to support online-only events.

With some ingenuity, perseverance, and great marketing the industry is beginning to see some amazing growth in online competitions and viewership. Research and analysis firm Statista report predicates that by the end of 2021 global online Esports viewership will exceed 470 million viewers.

Overall, there has been an amazing growth in video game interest thanks to the increased awareness of platforms like Twitch and its gaming personalities. This resurgence in gaming and the inclusion of Esports betting for those who want to have a vested interest in the games they are watching has led Statista to predict that online viewership will peak at around 580 million online viewers by 2024.

 Sweden Joins the Fight

Despite the Swedish Sports Federation voting last month the refuse Esports recognition as an “official sport” there is no denying that the country is one of Europe’s key competitive gaming markets.

The country boasts ten Esports streaming, betting and competitive platforms with local incorporation and is considered a prime destination for several high-level tournaments including the upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament.

The tournament, known as PGL Major Stockholm 2021, is the premier annual CS:GO tournament and as such has been known to attract more than half a million viewers during its three-week run. This year however Polish gaming agency, Fantasyexpo, has acquired partial EU broadcast rights to the event with plans to air it across Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

Krzysztof Stypułkowski, Co-Founder of Fantasyexpo, said:

“We are constantly setting the achievement bar higher and higher. The organisation of broadcasts for so many fans, in eight different languages, is surely a jump to a higher level for our agency. It is a great challenge not only for our studio but for the entire team cooperating with commercial partners and media.”

This expanded broadcasting is expected to multiply viewership threefold from 500,000 up to 1.5 million viewers during peak times. If the ratio from previous events holds true, this could see the event generate more than 250 million hours of combined viewing.