Tyler ‘Tyler1’ Steinkamp’s amatuer League of Legends tournament, the Tyler1 Championship Series, may have seen a fall in viewing figures this year compared to 2018’s competition, but he has big plans for its future.
During the closing segment of this year’s final, which saw the bizarrely named Fragas’s Baby Yodas take the 2019 title, Tyler1 set out his plans to expand the 2020 TCS and take the event to a physical location. “This is definitely the last TCS like this,” the streamer says, referring to the slightly ropey production quality and the fact the entire tournament is played online. “We are aiming at [becoming] official; huge stadium next TCS. It’s going to be fucking huge… We’re just going to try something different, see how fucking hype that is, and see players getting emotional in person.”
Despite Tyler1 being one of the most popular and influential people in the League of Legends community, this year’s event saw a drop in viewing figures on last year’s event, with the average audience watching on Twitch being around 30,000 lower than in 2018 at 53,700.
Last years event also peaked at 123,000, while the 2019 TCS managed to achieve a peak of only 90,000 viewers, according to Esports Charts.
While there was plenty of recognisable names in the casting lineup for the tournament, many were disappointed not to see more famous streamers, influencers, or ex-pros competing.
Maybe the draw of hosting the event in a physical space with a live audience and better production value will see number rise once again.