Intel and ESL have announced that their Intel Extreme Masters Katowice event, which saw tournaments like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Heroes of the Storm being played, had 173,000 fans in attendance.
"I cannot believe the event in Katowice is five years old already, and every time it's bigger and more amazing," commented 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," added 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."
As well as the 173,000 fans watching the event in person over two weekends, IEM Katowice reached over 46 million unique online viewers, marking a 35% growth from last year's event. It was also the most broadcasted event in the history of ESL, with 70 partners worldwide producing and distributing content in 19 languages. The event also reacehd 55 million people on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook, surpassing last year's total of 30 million.
A handy infographic breaks down a lot of the statistics from the event, in which champions, like Flash Wolves for LoL and Team Dignitas for Heroes of the Storm, were crowned. It may have broke records, but was it the best IEM in history?
