KPL Grand Finals breaks live-esports attendance record as Chengdu AG Super Play win 4–2

The Honor of Kings 2025 King Pro League (KPL) Grand Finals smashed the live‑esports attendance record on Nov. 8 drawing, over 62,000 fans into the Bird’s Nest.

The stadium pulsed with excitement as Chengdu AG Super Play edged out Wolves Esports, a result that underscored mobile gaming’s emergence as a heavyweight, in the esports scene.

The jaw‑dropping crowd size was confirmed on the spot, by Guinness World Records staff, who handed the trophy during the opening ceremony. The turnout blew past the mark of 45,000 fans, which had been set at the 2016 Pro Evolution Soccer tournament in Paris.

It’s the time a mobile esports contest has snagged that coveted accolade—a leap, for a segment of the industry that’s usually cast in the shadow of PC and console gaming.

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  The bookies' bookie

Demand, for the event hit a fever pitch with tickets gone in twelve seconds. A sea of fans—many of them having trekked from, outside Beijing—bore witness to a spectacle that dwarfed anything before.

The production rolled out a stage that spanned 128 metres and a massive 7,000‑square‑metre LED screen morphing the arena into a digital battlefield. Placing the finals, inside the Bird’s Nest that emblem of China’s influence acted as a bold proclamation of the cultural legitimacy esports has finally clinched.

The grand final showdown lived up, to the hype delivering a roller‑coaster best‑of‑seven that saw Chengdu AG Super Play pull off a 4‑2 win over the Wolves Esports. That victory added a tier‑one crown to their résumé and secured a second consecutive KPL Grand Finals title cementing a dynasty that shows no signs of waning.

Star guard YiNuo was crowned Finals MVP. Received a tailor‑made in‑game skin as a tribute, to his standout performance. The crew hauled home ¥20 million (, around $2.8 million) out of a prize pool that hit ¥70 million—just shy of $10 million. The record‑breaking turnout shines a light on the rise of esports a segment analysts expect to be worth, over $175 billion by 2028.

For years PC powerhouses such, as League of Legends and Counter‑Strike 2 have commanded the bulk of viewership and betting activity. The sheer accessibility of games has forged a huge deeply‑engaged player base—particularly throughout Asia.

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  Fast Payouts

The KPL Grand Finals makes clear that the fervor bubbling online can spill over into venues pulling in attendance numbers that stand toe‑to‑toe with those of sports. The swelling fascination has begun to surface in esports betting with heavyweight platforms laying out a suite of markets for top‑flight mobile battles, like the KPL.

This home‑market victory gives Tencent a lift, in its quest, for reach. The conglomerate, which owns TiMi Studio Group – the creators of “Honor of Kings” – has been pressing the game’s international edition forward through its Level publishing arm aiming to square off with the mobile MOBA heavyweights.

Moreover the inclusion of “Honor of Kings”, as a marquee title at the Riyadh‑hosted Esports World Cup. A tournament flaunting a prize pool of, than $60 million.

Turns this record‑breaking affair into an illustration of the game’s far‑reaching popularity worldwide. Even as it vied for eyeballs, alongside League of Legends Worlds 2025 and the IEM Chengdu clash for Counter‑Strike 2 the KPL Grand Finals showed how magnetic its pull can be.

Packing one of the globe’s arenas, Honor of Kings did more than stage a competition—it delivered a crystal‑clear statement: the future of esports is already fitting snugly into the palm of your hand.