Every summer, Spanish Twitch streamer Ibai Llanos hosts an online boxing tournament called La Velada del Año (The Night of the Year). In just four years, the tournament has grown from a relatively small event featuring a handful of Spanish influencers to a massive global phenomenon featuring more than 20 fighters and a slew of musical acts. break record 5.9 million Twitch users tuned in to watch this year’s event, held on July 13 in pack 80,000 seat stadium in Madrid.
The biggest name on the show is Will Smith, who appears as the main musical artist and lead the crowd in The New Prince of Bel-Air TV show theme. The Oscar winner was the first English-speaking performer in the event’s history, but he wasn’t the most popular person on the night. According to data from StreamsCharts, most viewed moment During the livestream, which also set a record with 3.8 million concurrent viewers, was a boxing match between two influencers, one from Spain and one from Chile.
This event makes for a perfect cross-section of what the internet will look like in 2024. First, there are boxing matches. Mano-a-mano fights have been a promotional tactic for influencers for years. Examples run the gamut, from Controversial YouTuber Turns MMA Fighter Logan Paul to Tech Billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Elon MuskWho seriously prepared for a cage match last year against Zuckerberg called itIn an age where cultural values are defined by parasocial stan armypeople who live up to their name by participating fierce competition Along with other fans, there is an indelible power in witnessing these celebrities actually sparring.
Of course, in reality, these influencers and online personalities understand that this isn’t really a competition. Ibai regularly collaborates with other streamers around the globe, combining their audiences and fans for more engagement and a higher profile. On the same day as La Velada del Año, YouTuber MrBeast uploaded a video titled “50 YouTubers compete for $1,000,000 prize.” The video is done in MrBeast’s usual frenetic style, but the format itself seems clearly inspired by Ibai Llanos’ tournament. Ibai himself is one of the 50 YouTubers featured in the video, barring any accusations from fans of both streamers.
The competition was designed to be broadcast on Twitch, which means it’s modeled as much after an esports tournament as it is a UFC match. Ibai, who serves as the host and commentator for the evening’s matches, first found success on Twitch as a Spanish speaker. League of Legends broadcaster. He has turned his streaming success into a media empire, including TV talk show and co-founder Kings Tournamenta soccer league that optimizes the game for streaming by adding video game-inspired rules like power-ups. Video games have a huge industrybut they are starting to become popular for marketersshows that events like La Velada del Año, which bring gaming culture into more traditional spaces, will become more popular on Twitch and off.
Twitch itself is in a strange, paradoxical position. The streaming platform has seen general decline in user and revenue growth over the past few years and has never profitable since being acquired by Amazon in 2015. In February, the site completely withdrew from South Korea, which is one of their biggest overseas markets. At the same time, however, Twitch streamers are bigger than ever as the overall audience for their livestreams continues to grow. Spain alone has become a huge market for Twitch streamers, as they can stream to a global Spanish-speaking audience while taking advantage of profitable european marketing transaction.
