Esports events across the world have only grown larger over time with the growth of the internet and advent of bigger sponsors. This is reflected through the massive live attendance numbers and concurrent online viewers, and some esports events stand out above the rest.
Best esports crowds of all time
In the past couple of decades, several huge tournaments have gathered a sizeable live audience. These events comprised different singular esports as well as a multitude of games that are played simultaneously. Over the years, the esports scene kept growing, and these 10 events showcase the love from the audience via their huge attendance numbers.
10) Gfinity 3 2014
2014 was a great year for esports all around. The Gfinity 3 event took place in London, at the Copper Box Arena, with over 4000 fans cheering for their favorite teams. The event consisted of multiple esports including Counter-Strike, StarCraft II, Call of Duty, and FIFA, with something for everyone that visited. The combined prize pool of over $130,000 fueled the competition even further.
Gfinity 3 was the biggest event for the organization and still holds a special place in the hearts of fans who saw the event live.
9) Dota 2 The International 4 2014
Dota 2‘s TI, or The International, is the biggest annual event in the history of the game. For an event of such magnitude, especially considering the $11 million prize pool in 2014, no small arena would do. The Key Arena was chosen for TI4, selling out all 10,000 tickets within less than an hour of the sales going live. The energy emanating from the Key Arena that week was palpable.
As the tournament progressed, some of the live audience started to dwindle. The mutual understanding is that it’s probably because fan-favorites Natus Vincere were knocked out early, disappointing fans.
8) League of Legends: Season 3 Worlds Championship
The Staples Center in Los Angeles was home to the grand finals of the League of Legends Worlds Championship in 2013. 12,000 people attended the event in the Galen Center (semifinals) and the Staple Center, leading to substantial anticipation for what was to come. A peak viewership of 8.5 million concurrent viewers watched the event from their homes.
The top teams competed for a prize pool of over $2 million, making it one of the most hotly-contested esports events of the year. SK Telecom T1 won their first of three championships at this event as well.
7) Dota 2 ESL One Frankfurt 2014
While the TI events are the cream of the crop for Dota 2 viewers, some of the smaller events generated a lot of hype as well. One such event was hosted by ESL in 2014, a tournament where the top eight teams competed for a prize pool of $150,000. The event was hosted in the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, hosting a crowd of over 12,500 spectators who watched the game live.
Invictus Gaming and Evil Geniuses clashed in the grand finals of the tournament, with IG coming out successful against the formidable North American team.
6) Dota 2 The International 9 2019
Dota 2‘s TI9 was the last major TI with a massive crowd, following 2020’s cancellation of The International. TI10 had a virtual crowd, while TI11 and TI12’s crowds couldn’t match the intensity of the early years. The Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai hosted a maximum capacity of 18,000 screaming fans, excited to watch the best teams in the world have at it for $34 million.
The raucous crowd at TI9 eventually watched a stellar grand final between Team Liquid and OG, the winners of TI7 and TI8 respectively. Eventually, OG won the series 3-1, becoming the first two-time TI champions in the history of Dota 2.
5) League of Legends Worlds Championship 2014
As big as the League of Legends Worlds Championship was in 2013, the following tournament in 2014 broke all kinds of records at the time. The event took place in multiple places around the world, including Taipei and Singapore, with the grand finals culminating in Seoul, South Korea. The Seoul World Cup Stadium hosted a record-breaking 40,000 fans who showed up to watch the finals.
The viewership was even bigger for spectators from home, with the event being broadcast on nine different screens. Hosting the largest single arena crowd in League of Legends history, Seoul was home to a special event in 2014.
4) League of Legends Worlds Championship 2015
The numbers keep on increasing with League of Legends attendance records. If 2013 and 2014 were any indication of how things were to be, 2015 broke those expectations. The Worlds Championship 2015 took place in several cities, including Paris, London, and Berlin, throughout October, with 16 teams competing for the $2.1 million prize pool.
The combined attendance number in Paris (Le Dock Pullman), London (Wembley Stadium), and Berlin (Brussels Expo/Mercedes-Benz Arena) consisted of 43,000 elated League of Legends fans. The conclusion of the event saw SK Telecom T1 win the event and take home a prize of $1 million.
3) Pro Evolution Soccer UEFA EURO 2016
The 40,000-strong record set by League of Legends in 2014 was broken two years later by Pro Evolution Soccer in 2016. The UEFA EURO 2016 event took place in Champ de Mars, Paris, a two-day tournament that coincided with the Euro football championships, which led to a massive attendance record.
The stadium held a staggering 45,000 spectators who came to watch Alejandro Alguacil defeat Antoine Choite Mbamy to become the PES 2016 champion of the world. To date, this event holds a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest live audience for a singular event.
2) League of Legends Worlds Championship 2016
If 2015 proved anything, it was that League of Legends was only going to get bigger. And get bigger it did in 2016, during the major event of the year, the League of Legends Worlds Championship. Similar to previous events, the tournament took place in several cities including San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.
The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (San Francisco), the Chicago Theater (Chicago), Madison Square Garden (New York City), and the Staples Center (Los Angeles) held a combined attendance record of over 47,000. The crowd gathered to watch SK Telecom T1 become the first three-time champion in League of Legends history, competing for a prize pool of $6.7 million.
1) Intel Extreme Masters Season XI
While PES 2016 UEFA EURO 2016 still holds the record for the largest live audience for a singular esports event, the largest event in esports history was a different animal. The Intel Extreme Masters Season XI took place in several countries around the world such as China, USA, and South Korea, finally culminating in Katowice, Poland, for the grand finals.
This event comprised multiple esports including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and StarCraft II, with the best players in the world showcasing their craft. The Spodak Arena held a massive 173,000 spectators who attended the event over two weekends in February and March.
The event saw Team Astralis win the CS:GO tournament while Flash Wolves won the LoL tournament. Finally, Jun “TY” Tae Yang won the StarCraft II tournament and took home the gold.
