SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice 2016, which ended earlier this month, has been announced as the biggest ever esports event in ESL history. 
Held at the Spodek Arena the three day event, which included tournaments in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Starcraft and League of Legends, saw Fnatic, SK Telecom T1 and Polt emerge the respective winners.
This year’s event shattered all records for viewership and fan engagement, with 34 million unique viewers watching the championship. This marks a 32% increase from 2015. There was also an 8% increase in physical attendance with 113,000 fans attending in person.
The IEM was ESL’s most wide ranging broadcast with streaming and tv broadcasts on ten different distribution channels in 17 countries.
In terms of social media the event also blew up with over 30 million unique users engaged on Facebook and Twitter, and over 18 million video views.
Michal Blicharz, VP of Pro Gaming at ESL said this of the event: “Coming to Katowice for the IEM finals is the highlight of my year. Every second of the tournament can create a memory which is never forgotten and that’s what makes the magic of the event. If I were to pinpoint the reason why more people tune in every year, it’s that magic of our event that has a lot to do with it.”
