IEM Katowice becomes the biggest eSports event ever

ESL has announced that the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice event was the biggest eSports event in history. 

173,000 people attended the event over the two weekends, which is well above any other eSports event, while online broadcasts reached more than 46 million unique online viewers, a 35% growth from last year’s event. IEM Katowice was also the most broadcasted event in ESL’s history, with 70 linear and digital broadcast partners pumping out footage from the event. 

Impressively the event reached 55 million people via social channels, which is a massive increase over the 30 million reported from last years event. 

"I cannot believe the event in Katowice is five years old already, and every time it’s bigger and more amazing,” said Michal Blicharz, Vice President of Pro Gaming at ESL. “We’re humbled and proud to be able to come back to this audience every year and share this wonderful experience with everyone in the Spodek Arena as well as the whole esports world watching."

“Intel Extreme Masters Katowice shattered all expectations with record breaking attendance and viewership,” said Frank Soqui, General Manager of the Virtual Reality and Gaming Group at Intel. “The gaming community’s passion for esports was on display and Intel is proud to continue delivering the best gaming experiences to fans around the world, whether that’s with IEM tournaments, driving growth in VR content, or improving how people play with Intel processors and technology.”