Some 97% of offline tickets for the tournament have been booked three days into the event, according to official figures
The Games of the Future, the first-ever international phygital tournament, which kicked off in Russia on Wednesday, has been nearly out of offline tickets as of Saturday, according to the sports minister of Tatarstan, Vladimir Leonov.
Speaking to reporters at a press briefing, Leonov noted that organizers had sold nearly 97% of the total 80,000 tickets three days into the event.
“There are practically no tickets left. But if you can’t watch it in person, we invite everyone to the streaming platforms, where everything is covered,” Leonov said.
The innovative competition started in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, on February 21 and will run through March 3. The event combines conventional and electronic sports, and brings together over 2,000 contestants from more than 100 countries. The sports program includes competitions in 21 disciplines at nine sports facilities in Tatarstan and one in Sochi.
Ticket sales for the event kicked off on December 20 last year, and organizers say the demand has been buoyant from the start. However, the head of the event, Igor Stolyarov, earlier said that the organizers “are more interested” in online spectators than those in-person due to the specific nature of the tournament. The viewing “super target” has been set at three billion views and 250 million unique viewers for live broadcasts for the entire event.
The Games of the Future can be viewed live on the Russian federal TV channel Match TV. They are also available on the official website of the tournament and on streaming platforms, including VK Play, Trovo and Twitch.
