With the FC Pro Open, EA SPORTS has created a “Super League” in FC 24 that is also setting new standards in terms of viewer numbers – thanks to a simple trick and attractive pairings.
The FC Pro always comes back on Mondays, you could say these days, based on a hit song by Cindy & Bert at EA SPORTS. Judging by the viewers, those responsible at the FC 24 developer should at least feel like celebrating. After all, the “Super League” is currently generating outstanding viewer numbers week after week.
World Cup finals put in the shade
According to “Esports Charts”, the first Group A match between Umut ‘RBLZ_Umut’ Gültekin and Emre Yilmaz attracted over 300,000 viewers to the screens at its peak. What is wearily ridiculed in other eSports offshoots is an outstanding result in the context of FIFA and FC eSports. By comparison, the FIFAe World Cup 2023 final was only watched live by around 55,000 fans at its peak, compared to just under 150,000 viewers in 2022. The FC Pro Open now clearly overshadows these figures.
Why is that? Mainly because of three simple links between the game and the competition. EA SPORTS implemented the first eSports-related in-game promo before the start of the FC Pro Open. With this, special cards in FUT improve depending on the performance of the Pro Open participants assigned to them. In addition, players will receive XP for the Season Pass if they spend a certain amount of time in the competition’s livestreams. These streams will also reveal how to solve individual puzzles in the game
Viewer interest more than a flash in the pan?
However, the analysis of “Esports Charts” shows that the viewers could actually be fans with a long-term interest who are not just tuning in for a short time to get their in-game rewards. The average number of spectators at the FC Pro Open is an impressive 214,151, whereas this year’s FIFAe World Cup in Saudi Arabia attracted just over a tenth of that number (27,771). So the idea of a prominent league with attractive pairings is also having an effect.
The clash between Yilmaz and Gültekin was a rematch of last season’s eChampions League semi-final. With the reigning world champion Manuel ‘ManuBachoore’ Bachoore, Gültekin’s teammate Anders ‘RBLZ_Vejrgang’ Vejrgang and Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt and his ManCity partner Matias Bonanno, the newly created league also features various other top-class names.
Sprinkled with promising underdogs such as Sean ‘seanldw’ Landwehr or Lukas ‘Lukas_official11’ Wolff, who could provide surprises, the result is an exciting overall package with potential for entertaining narratives. As already seen in Bonanno’s surprisingly weak first matchday. A concept that works in the first few weeks.
