The weekend of July 13 was unforgettable for Ibai Llanos, who broke another Twitch record. The Spanish streamer set a new record for concurrent Twitch viewers during the fourth La Velada del Año, his influencer boxing event.
Record-breaking event
Popular creators boxing against one other has made Ibai’s event, dubbed “The Night of the Year,” popular. Around 3.85 million people watched the event simultaneously on Twitch this year, shattering the previous record. The tournament drew 3.3 million views in 2022 and 3.4 million viewers in 2023. The event this year exceeded all of those figures.
During La Velada del Año IV, Twitch also reached a site-wide peak of 6.74 million concurrent viewers. This includes 4.34 million users viewing other channels, according to Streams Charts.
Massive in-person audience
In addition to shattering internet records, the event attracted a sizable in-person attendance. Santiago Bernabéu Stadium was sold out during La Velada del Año IV. This is not the first time Ibai has drawn a crowd this size. With a capacity of almost 99,000, Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium was packed for his Kings League soccer event last year.
There were thrilling performances and bouts at the tournament. A ten-person “King of the Ring” fight, a two-on-two boxing contest and musical performances by Will Smith unfolded at the event.
Ibai is a favorite to take home the Event of the Year title at the Los Premios ESLAND awards in 2025 because of the extraordinary amount of planning that went into the event.
Future of La Velada del Año
Ibai keeps stretching the limits of what’s feasible on Twitch with every new event. In terms of entertainment value, production quality,and viewership, La Velada del Año IV has raised the bar for future events. It will be fascinating to see what Ibai accomplishes next and whether anyone else can duplicate his unprecedented accomplishment.
Image courtesy: La Velada del Año IV