The End of the NHL Gaming World Championship Series

The NHL Esports community received some bad news recently. The NHL Gaming World Championship series is on direct pause—a popular event for the most dedicated players and fans alike. The announcement that seemed to stun everyone—the participants and fans alike came right from the EA Sports NHL 24 World Championship Discord channel. The series gave the community a vague statement about the shutoff, thus leaving many fans and participants rather disappointed. It's now in limbo, making the competition's future pretty alien in being suspense-filled and at the helm of speculations.

The Inaugural NHL Gaming World Championship

The first NHL Gaming World Championship was held in Las Vegas way back in 2018. The venue was the Luxor Hotel & Casino, which marked one of the keystones of NHL Esports. 

The winner was Erik "Eki" Tammenpää, who happens to be from Espoo, Finland. He walked away with the grand prize of $50,000. The event was a great success because so many people attended it in person and online. In 2019, the championship continued to grow, where Matthew "Top-Shelf-Cookie" Gutkoski emerged as the winner that year.

The event's popularity skyrocketed to its highest peak, with the average viewership on Twitch increasing from 16,190 all the way to 49,484, according to escharts.com. This increase in interest seemed to prove that the NHL finally found a different way to connect with its fanbase through Esports.

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Viewership Drop and Other Challenges to Hosting

After reaching its peak in popularity, the NHL Gaming World Championship started to show fewer viewership numbers. It started to decline right around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and might have been a reason for such a decrease. Prize pools shrunk, and it became harder to organize big in-person (LAN) events.

This championship's viewership dropped tremendously to 3,275 viewers on average and peaked at 20,401 only in 2023. But one of the low points occurred when the NHL 24 North American Championships were held at the NHL's flagship store in New York. It was a setting that was certainly removed from the glories of past events.

Shoppers strolled across the store while what was hailed as a "professional" gaming event continued, somewhat removed from earlier prestigious venues. The series has struggled to stay alive with even sunny Nashville being tried out as a location; the future is uncertain.

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The NHL 24 World Finals at OS Studios

The NHL 24 World Finals went down at the OS Studios in New York. There was no live audience in attendance like in past finals. Historically, the finals have always been done in front of cheering fans, except during the pandemic years. That spoke volumes that the NHL was not committed as much to large events anymore for the championships. 

The competition, however, lived on—a fact attributed partly to the continued support from FanDuel Sports. Well, while the community's in a struggle, the dedicated partners of NHL Esports keep alive the spirit. 

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Final Thoughts

The NHL Gaming World Championship series is at a crossroads—with both fans and players uncertain of the future. After an exceptionally bright starting period, it has faced recent challenges overshadowing that glory—especially the drop in viewers and much hassle when running big events.

Although this series has been put on pause, it still gives hope that with the continuous help of dedicated partners and with the help of the community, NHL Esports can regain its footing. Fans like us are left with nothing but sitting back with their fingers crossed regarding whatever is in store for such a treasured game series.