334M viewers tuned in to League of Legends 2015 World Championships

Say it with me: eSports is a big deal.

League of Legends developer Riot games has a lot to feel smug about at the moment, as the 2015 World Championships outdid all the MOBA's past viewership records.

The tournament attracted 334 million livestream viewers over the course of the four week event, up from 288 million in 2014.

Spectators totted up 360 million hours of viewing, a huge increase on 2014's 194 million. An average of 4.2 million fans were tuned in at any given time, and the grand final between SKT and Koo Tigers attracted 36 million viewers.

If you're still sounding off in comments sections with "boring", "nobody cares" and "why would you rather watch than play for yourself", it may be time to admit that you are behind the times. When slow-moving mega-publishers Activision and EA both open eSports divisions, and a viewing platform attracts €55 million in funding, you just have to gracefully accept the state of things, you know?