EA and FIFA have revealed that the FIFA 19 Global Series has generated over 680 million minutes watched, representing a 60% annual increase. This also amounts to 61 million total views - a 25% increase over the year before.
"We're thrilled to see a global community rally around the EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Global Series in such monumental ways," said Brent Koning, FIFA Competitive Gaming Commissioner. "Our partnerships with FIFA, UEFA and 17 world-class football leagues elevates our connection to the traditional sport driving unprecedented player and spectator engagement. Now, we watch the top 128 players that qualified for the EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Global Series Playoffs compete in pursuit of becoming world champion at the FIFA eWorld Cup 2019."
"The continuous increase in viewership underlines the huge interest in competitive FIFA and the importance of eSports in the ongoing growth of football across the world," added Christian Volk, Director eFootball & Gaming at FIFA. "We are looking forward to welcoming the best 32 EA SPORTS FIFA 19 players to the FIFA eWorld Cup this summer and crowning the ultimate champion of this record-breaking season."
We now look ahead to the playoffs, which are due to start with Xbox between July 5 and 7 in Hamburg. PS4's bracket will follow from July 12 to 14 in Berlin, and this will whittle down the top 128 players (you can find out who these are here).
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