The Intel Extreme Masters world tour stopped in Katowice, Poland and broke records for live viewers in Europe.
With 50,000 people visiting the venue across three days, this also represents the highest number of visitors ever to a stand-alone eSports event in Europe. This number was made even more poignant by the fact that the Spodek Arena had to be closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as its full capacity was quickly reached. This created amazing scenes where over 3,000 fans braved the sub zero temperatures to watch the event on the huge screen outside the stadium.
"The entire weekend has been simply stunning for all of us,” said Michal Blicharz, Director of Pro Gaming at Turtle Entertainment. “The event turned out much better than our wildest dreams could imagine. It was a historic weekend, not only in terms of esports but also Polish culture overall, and served as an eye-opener for the mass media and the general public. I cannot thank ESL Poland enough for producing this fantastic event.”
Overall, during the three days of gaming 220 matches were played at the Spodek Arena and 147 competitive gamers tried their best to win the Intel Extreme Masters.
