Due to the diverse roster of Twitch stars who competed, popular streaming organization OTK made SMITE history by hosting the most-watched tournament in the game’s history.
To help those impacted by the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, money was raised through the OTK Smite Invitational, which finished on June 28th.
Although it was for a good cause, it also accomplished more than that.
The event peaked at 134,000 concurrent viewers across all channels, including Mizkif‘s channel and the channels of some streamers who participated, according to StreamsCharts. It exceeded the peak viewership for the previous three SMITE World Championships, which ranged from 100,000 to 110,000 viewers.
The event proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that streamers can be a driving force in the competitive sphere regardless of skills and that there is a market for more of these types of events, even though that is impressive because streamers are better at making it a spectacle, even though it’s exciting to see esports stars demonstrate their skills at the highest level. According to viewership statistics, people are interested in that. It’s comparable to all-star games like those at Dota 2‘s biggest tournament, The International, which frequently feature retired pros and other scene figures rather than actual players.
Even though the skill level is much lower than what it is in competitive playoff matches, viewers savor those matches because they offer good content.
OTK is now affiliated with WePlay Esports, so there’s a chance that we’ll see additional gaming competitions similar to it—especially in light of how well-received it was on Twitch.