Sports are a popular pastime for many people, whether it’s going to a game or watching at home with family or friends. The 2020 Super Bowl captivated in 102 million viewers, an increase from the previous year. While “traditional” sports gather a large audience, esports has one of the faster-growing viewership numbers over the last 5 years.

Esports Statistics

In 2018, esports viewership was at 173M frequent viewers and 222M occasional viewers. That number more than doubled in 2019, with viewership reaching 453.8M. North America has the largest esports market, with China and South Korea following with notable numbers. Though these audience numbers are impressive, revenue growth is even more remarkable. In 2019, revenues reached over $1 billion, and they’re estimated to reach $1.8 billion by 2022 with 645 million total viewers.

Esports Tournament Popularity

So which events drew the biggest crowds? Esports Insider (ESI) did the math and found the most popular esports tournaments of 2019. While “popular” is a relative term, ESI looked at the numbers in three different ways.

If you’re not familiar with the world of esports, here is the break down of each of these tournaments:

• League of Legends World Championship
• Dota 2's The International
• StarLadder Major Berlin
• IEM Katowice Major 2019
• Fortnite World Cup Finals
• Free Fire World Series Rio

Growing Numbers = Growing Concerns

The growing popularity of esports raises concerns with health professionals. A study published in the Journal of American Osteopathic Association urges the sports medicine industry to develop new protocols specific for esports athletes. Though athletes are at high risk for concerns like a lack of physical activity, carpal tunnel, neck and back pain, eye strain and fatigue, and headaches due to prolonged screen time, the audience is also at risk.

Protect Your Eyes

Tired eyes and eye strain are some of the most common complaints in relation to gaming and screen time in general. EyePromise^® created Screen Shield™ Pro to help build your eyes’ natural protection from the effects of screen time. To put it to the test, we let James “Clayster” Eubanks, a professional gamer on Eunited, try it out. Watch the video for the full story.