Video game publisher Riot Games has announced that the final of the League of Legends World Championship esports tournament will return to China in 2020.
The tenth edition of the competitive gaming event will be staged at the 56,000-seater Shanghai Stadium, which serves as the home of reigning Chinese Super League (CSL) soccer champions Shanghai SIPG FC.
The final was last staged in China in 2017 at the Beijing National Stadium, with Shanghai hosting the semi-final that year. The city also serves as the headquarters for the League of Legends Pro League, the top level of the competition in China.
The news came as this year’s League of Legends World Championship wrapped up at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris having roped in significant viewership.
The final, which saw FunPlus Phoenix beat G2 Esports 3-0, achieved a peak audience of 3.7 million viewers, according to Esports Charts. Even more fans tuned in for G2’s semi-final victory over SKT Telecom T1, which peaked at four million concurrent viewers.
Both of those figures dwarfed the peak viewership figures for this summer’s Fortnite World Cup Finals, which roped in 2.3 million viewers.
It has not yet been confirmed how many viewers tuned in across the entire League of Legends World Championship finals, which last year were watched by a record 99.6 million people.
Video game publisher Riot Games has announced that the final of the League of Legends World Championship esports tournament will return to China in 2020.
The tenth edition of the competitive gaming event will be staged at the 56,000-seater Shanghai Stadium, which serves as the home of reigning Chinese Super League (CSL) soccer champions Shanghai SIPG FC.
The final was last staged in China in 2017 at the Beijing National Stadium, with Shanghai hosting the semi-final that year. The city also serves as the headquarters for the League of Legends Pro League, the top level of the competition in China.
The news came as this year’s League of Legends World Championship wrapped up at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris having roped in significant viewership.
The final, which saw FunPlus Phoenix beat G2 Esports 3-0, achieved a peak audience of 3.7 million viewers, according to Esports Charts. Even more fans tuned in for G2’s semi-final victory over SKT Telecom T1, which peaked at four million concurrent viewers.
Both of those figures dwarfed the peak viewership figures for this summer’s Fortnite World Cup Finals, which roped in 2.3 million viewers.
It has not yet been confirmed how many viewers tuned in across the entire League of Legends World Championship finals, which last year were watched by a record 99.6 million people.
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