Alongside the League of Legends Worlds Grand Final, China hosted two major tournaments this weekend: the IEM Chengdu playoffs on Counter-Strike, and the grand final of the Chinese Honor of Kings league. It was the latter that made history on Saturday, October 8, 2025, by setting a new world record for the Largest live attendance for an esport tournament, according to the Guinness World Records — with exactly 62,196 spectators filling the Bird’s Nest Beijing National Stadium.

Tickets for the event sold out in just under twelve seconds, with more than 60,000 seats taken, roughly 75% of the stadium’s standard capacity. Built for the 2008 Olympic Games, the Bird’s Nest remains one of Beijing’s most iconic arenas. However, due to the elongated stage and screen layout (visible in the image above), Tencent, the publisher of Honor of Kings, was unable to fully utilize the entire seating potential of the venue.

A new attendance record for esports

For esports fans, the Bird’s Nest holds a special place in history: it was the site of the spectacular opening ceremony for the League of Legends 2017 Worlds Final, featuring the now-legendary Elder Dragon soaring through the stadium before landing, roaring, and taking off once again.

Already crowned champions in 2024 — also against Wolves Esports — All.Gamers claimed back-to-back titles this year with a 4–2 victory, setting the record in front of this massive live audience. Earlier in the season, the team had also captured the Honor of Kings World Champion title at the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia during the summer.

With this record, Honor of Kings officially surpasses the previous benchmark set by Pro Evolution Soccer during the PES UEFA EURO 2016 Final held on the Champ de Mars in Paris. That record was achieved in a public fan zone filled for a live broadcast of the EURO 2016 football match between France and Germany on July 7. Unlike this new record in China, however, the vast majority of attendees in Paris were not there for the esports event itself, but for the football match being shown on the same screens.

For reference, the Bird’s Nest’s all-time attendance record dates back to 2008, when over 89,102 spectators filled the stadium for the men’s football gold medal match between Nigeria and Argentina during the Olympic Games.