FIFA 21 Challenge becomes most watched EA Sports esports event with 254,000 AMA

Last month's FIFA 21 Challenge shattered viewership records to become the most-watched esports event hosted by EA Sports, till date. The single-day esports tournament paired up professional football players from across Europe with competitive gamers, competing for the $20,000 charity prize pool. The event also served as the promotional competition for the global of FIFA 21. 

EA Sports viewership record

Recently, EA Sports bragged about its FIFA 21 Challenge viewership numbers, stating that the one-day completion drew an average minute audience (AMA) of 254,057, which more than double the previous EA Sports viewership record, which was set by the FIFA Global Series FUT Champions Cup: Barcelona (92,678 AMA). This is quite a feat for FIFA 21 Challenge considering that the event from January 2018 took place for multiple days. Furthermore, FIFA 21 Challenge recorded a total watch time of 1,024,696 hours as it comfortably became the most-watched EA operated esports broadcast in history. 

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The boosted numbers are also a result of EA Sports' continuous efforts to carve out a niche for itself in the rapidly rising esports community. In addition to using celebrity football players to boost its appeal to the masses, the EA Sports FIFA 21 Challenge was also the first event to make use of FIFA Global Series Viewership Rewards, which offered in-game benefits and rewards for the viewers. This is a tactic used by most competitive titles where they offer players exclusive skins or in case of FIFA, FUT cards to drive traffic and engagement.

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The FIFA 21 Challenge was a part of a series of EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series pre-season invitational tournaments organised to promote the release of the newest iteration of the popular football simulation title. The event saw participation from Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, West Ham's Declan Rice, Dortmund star Giovanni Reyna and Inter's Achraf Hakimi. Each of the four players teamed up with professional FIFA players. The team of Alexander-Arnold and Tekkz won the tournament, beating Rice and DUX Gravesen, 8-4 on aggregate. The $20,000 prize pool went to a charity of their choice. 

Last month, EA also made the official announcement for FIFA 21 eWorld Cup and a whole lot of qualifying events as a part of the FIFA 21 Global Series. A $3 million FIFA 21 tournament prize pool was announced for the series of events taking place between November 2020 to August 2021. 

Also Read | FIFA 21 Global Series & eWorld Cup: Schedule, Start Dates And How To Qualify For Event

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(Image Credits: ea.com/games)