Soccer, music, extreme sports, social media: how Spain is reinventing esports
Barcelona, Spain, Jul 20 (EFE).- Soccer matches with video game rules, international artists, extreme sports and celebrities will combine for the grand finals of the Kings League – a competition that has revolutionized the world of e-sports in Spain.
The CEO of the Kings League and the Queens League, Oriol Querol, tells EFE that the goal is to make the final at Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano stadium on July 29 “the big event of the year”.
After playing one of the finals at Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium in front of more than 92,000 people, it will now be the Metropolitano, with a capacity of 69,000, to host a final which will feature musical performances, extreme sports and soccer.
Musicians Manuel Turizo, Nicki Nicole and Carmina Veas will perform, while there will also be an exhibition of Red Bull X-Fighters.
The League combines traditional soccer with wild rules or “secret weapons” that change the outcome, such as double points for goals at the end of matches, cards coaches can use with upgrades for their team, and dice that when rolled can change the number of players on the field, among many others.
It also brings together retired greats such as Ronaldinho, Sergio ‘Kun’ Agüero and Iker Casillas, as well as influencers, streamers and young people who can join one of the teams competing the championship after a screening process, racking up millions of views online.
“As of today, the Kings League Twitch channel has the highest average audience worldwide, and we also have one of the largest global YouTube channels. The same goes for TikTok, which has become one of the most successful live channels,” says Oriol.
The league has more than 6 million followers on Tik Tok, 2 million on Instagram, 750,000 followers on Twitter and 2.7 million on Twitch.
“We have been gaining a foothold, raising the average ratings, and that has forced us to accelerate some of the plans we had for perhaps further down the road,” such as its upcoming partnership with a league in America. EFE
gm/ks
