Viewership numbers for the ESL One Birmingham have demonstrated that the event was a success, with viewers showing a particular interest in Team Secret’s nail biting 3-2 victory over Evil Geniuses.
ESL One Birmingham has surpassed viewing figures for an ESL One Dota 2 event so far, with an exponential rise of viewers – 7.6 million hours were consumed over the course of the Dota 2 filled weekend along with a footfall of over 24,000 fans at Arena Birmingham.
The tournament saw a new peak viewership record of 306,070 viewers tuning in on the day, breaking the record set in 2017 at the Hamburg Major.
Reflecting on the success of ESL One Birmingham, Scott Gillingham, UK Gaming and Esports Lead at Intel UK commented: “We have seen incredible support from the UK esports community in the last year, so it’s been fantastic to return with ESL One Birmingham in 2019. Intel is committed to the future of esports, from hosting major tournaments to investing in the ideas, communities, and talent to show the world that esports is here to stay.”
ESL UK CEO James Dean was similarly proud of the event’s success, commenting: “Birmingham did it again for the second year running. The crowd was electric, memes were rife, the dotes were incredible and yet again records were set. It’s safe to say ESL One has found a true home in Birmingham. It was an honour to welcome Margot James to the event, a very exciting demonstration to the entire UK esports industry of support and enthusiasm from UK government. I am very excited about what the future brings for the UK esports scene.”
The event caught the attention of UK Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, Margot James. James met with the players, teams, as well as the production crew and commented that “it’s opened [her] eyes to the sheer variety of careers that are on offer in the esports environment.”
