EMEA Masters Summer 2023 becomes the second most popular event of the series

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On August 8, the EMEA Masters Summer 2023, the League of Legends tournament, ended in the French city of Montpellier. It is the final tournament of the summer season for the winners of the national leagues. In the final match, Karmine Corp defeated the Spanish club Movistar Riders, attracting almost 300K Peak Viewers. 

The EMEA Masters is essentially the European championship and the largest international tournament of the season outside of MSI and Worlds, where participants from national leagues (LFL, Superliga, Prime League, etc.) can qualify. Before 2022, the tournament was known as the European Masters. In 2023, Riot Games updated the format and the list of participants (including representatives from the TCL and the Arabian League) and renamed the tournament EMEA Masters.

Karmine Corp players with the trophy

The EMEA Masters Summer 2023 took place in three stages: Play-In, Group Stage, and Knockout Stage. Most of the favorites easily made it to the final stage, with Team GO, SK Gaming Prime, Istanbul Wildcats, Karmine Corp, BK ROG Esports, Movistar Riders, Macko Esports, and GTZ Esports advancing to the Top 8. The Grand Final of the tournament featured the French team Karmine Corp and the Spanish organization Movistar Riders. The battle for the trophy was intense, and all five maps were played. In the end, Karmine Corp emerged victorious with a score of 3:2, securing the win at its home venue, Sud de France Arena. Taking into account their previous performances in the European Masters tournaments, this marks Karmine Corp's fourth victory in the European Championship.

EMEA Masters Summer 2023 Viewership Results 

Karmine participated in all the most popular matches of the tournament

The EMEA Masters Summer 2023 matches accumulated 4.4 million Hours Watched and drew 65.5K Average Viewers. The Grand Final between Karmine Corp and Movistar Riders, which attracted 296.7K Peak Viewers, became the most popular match of the event.

Karmine Corp emerged as the most popular team in the tournament, surpassing all other teams by both total Hours Watched and number of viewers. Two factors played a significant role in this. Firstly, Karmine had to play several tiebreaker matches in the Group Stage. Secondly, the audience reach was greatly influenced by Kamet0's community casting. Kamet0, a popular French streamer, and co-owner of Karmine, covered his team's matches on his personal channel.

Comparison Of EMEA Masters Summer 2023 With Previous Tournaments

The EMEA Masters Summer 2023 has undoubtedly proven to be more popular than the Spring tournament in the series. Compared to EMEA Masters Spring 2023, Hours Watched increased by 48%, with the Peak Viewers number rising by 172%.

Taking into account previous European Masters tournaments prior to the tournament's rebranding, the European Masters Spring 2022 remains the leader by the total Hours Watched, amassing an impressive number of 8.2 million Hours Watched. The highest number of viewers was recorded during the European Masters Spring 2021, with the Peak Viewers number reaching 377.5K.

Most popular EMEA Masters / European Masters tournaments 

It should be noted that the popularity of the EMEA Masters / European Masters is directly linked to the success of the tournament's media participants. Therefore, Karmine Corp's high results consistently increased the event's audience reach through community casting. If we look at the top European championships, Karmine Corp was involved in almost all of the top matches of these tournaments. A similar effect on the viewership results of these tournaments in the past was only achieved by Team Heretics, whose popular Spanish streamer, TheGrefg, is a co-owner and community caster. However, it should be remembered that since 2023, Team Heretics has moved up to the premier European league — LEC — and therefore they no longer be participate in the EMEA Masters.

Community casting impact on EMEA Masters/European Masters

If we compare previous seasons of the European Masters with the current EMEA Masters season, there is no significant difference between them. The only clear trigger that affects audience reach is the participation and successful performance of well-known media teams. When Karmine (and previously Heretic) participates in the tournament, such events always attract 2-3 times more Peak Viewers compared to tournaments without teams with big media support.