Blizzard Entertainment hoped exactly that when it sought to give the global esports phenomenon a geographic twist. While other esports, like the decade-old League of Legends pro circuit, have thrived with rootless franchises, Blizzard-backed OWL thinks the future of the industry involves bringing live events to invested parties throughout the year. OWL's Grand Finals averaged 1.12 million viewers globally in 2019, far behind the 21.8 million average audience for League of Legends World Championship, according to Nielsen. By comparison, Game 7 of last year’s World Series averaged 23.2 million viewers in the U.S., and the Super Bowl drew 112.7 million. The league strongly disputed those calculations and believes its been strategic enough about its schedule to keep players fresh.

Source: International New York Times February 12, 2020 08:48 UTC