GM Hikaru Nakamura and popular YouTuber GothamChess were astonished after IShowSpeed‘s chess match against boxing legend Manny Pacquiao set a new record.
The YouTube star, IShowSpeed, has been on a journey through Southeast Asia, and during his visit to the Philippines, he had a unique opportunity to spar with the iconic boxer.
In a collaborative event with the boxing superstar, they also engaged in a chess game, which turned out to be the most-watched match of the year.
This game caught the attention of chess grandmaster Hikaru, who described IShowSpeed as “extremely entertaining” during play.
200k+ watched a chess game between @ishowspeedsui VS @MannyPacquiao …WHAT???? pic.twitter.com/oDW6UNURVg
— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) September 16, 2024
Hikaru noted that he had heard about Pacquiao’s chess abilities and was not shocked by his ability to outshine IShowSpeed; however, he was amazed by the sheer number of viewers the match garnered.
“They played in front of over 250,000 people,” he remarked. “To illustrate just how significant that is, when looking at events like the World Chess Championships or the ongoing Chess Olympiad, their viewer counts pale in comparison. The audience is more interested in celebrities playing chess rather than random Grandmasters who have dedicated their lives to the game.”
GothamChess referred to this game as the “most-watched chess match of 2024” and labeled the collaboration as “fascinating.”
According to chess statistics platform ChessWatch, the FIDE Candidates tournament peaked at 337,656 viewers. However, those figures were shared across multiple channels, with Chess24 hitting a peak of 141,708 viewers at one time. This starkly contrasts with Speed and Pacquiao’s chess match, which achieved over 250,000 viewers on a single channel.
Therefore, Speed’s livestream stands as the most-watched chess match of 2024 when considering a single channel’s audience, an impressive milestone considering the unconventional nature of the event.
IShowSpeed and Manny Pacquiao set the record for the most-watched chess match in 2024.
Interestingly, GothamChess is now considering his own collaboration with the legendary Pacquiao.
In his video, GothamChess invited the boxing legend to collaborate on a project, where he would teach Pacquiao boxing techniques, while in return, the YouTuber would share advanced chess strategies.
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