Live streaming has become one of the most popular ways fans interact with their preferred games, sports, and interests. An article on Five Predictions For The Future Of Live Streaming outlines how “one of live streaming’s greatest strengths is its ability to bring together communities around shared interests, allowing people with specific niche hobbies, needs or passions to connect with like-minded individuals.”
This is why a Yahoo report estimates the global live-streaming market size will grow by $20.64 billion between 2025 and 2029. Millions of viewers tune in to live streams to become part of a shared community and one of the most popular sectors of esports gaming.
Our insight into the World of League Esports Teams details how esports players are athletes, strategists, and entertainers and can captivate audiences worldwide with their unique blend of skill and showmanship. Another sector of live streaming that is fast becoming very popular is online poker. Like esports gamers, poker players are also strategists and entertainers and showcase a blend of skill and showmanship that makes them highly watchable. In this post, we will examine how live poker streaming could soon compete with live esports streaming.
The Evolution of Poker Streaming
A huge part of poker’s success is how accessible it is to watch. In the 1970s, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) started broadcasting the final table of the WSOP Main Event on CBS. One major upgrade to the poker viewing experience that allowed more fans to understand the game was the invention of the hole-card camera, which allowed viewers to see players’ hidden cards. In 2002, the World Poker Tour started showing its own poker tournaments year-round, and today, it broadcasts in 150 countries worldwide. With the advent of the internet, poker has become even more accessible, with most poker tournaments around the globe available to watch online with expert commentary and insights.
Live poker today can be streamed from a number of sources, with official tournaments often hosting their own live stream, which allows them to show the whole tournament without interruption or time constraints. One of the most viewed official live streams is the WSOP, accessed through their official site. Poker fans can view every gold bracelet event. However, while official poker streams are popular, the game is finding a much wider audience through individual live streams that are being shown on platforms like Twitch.
Poker Streams Becoming Popular on Twitch
Poker live streaming has seen an uptick in followers as more poker pros and online platforms provide content on Twitch and YouTube. On Twitch, TritonPoker has amassed over 148,021 viewer hours, making it the most-watched poker channel. A popular way to bring in new poker fans on Twitch is for online poker platforms to create a team that subscribers can follow through different tournaments. Americas Cardroom, which has a large community of players, including ambassadors and poker pros, has a dedicated streaming team called the Stormers Stream Team. The team from Americas Cardroom features players from across the world and provides viewers with daily giveaways, insightful hand discussions, and exciting poker games. One way the Stormers Stream Team is inclusive to its followers is by allowing them to actually join the team and bring their poker game to a whole new audience. It is this engagement that is attracting new fans to poker.
Will Poker Live Streaming Become as Big as Esports?
While the ability to watch live poker has been around for much longer, esports live streaming has become a giant industry in its own right. The League of Legends 2024 World Championship is the most watched eSports event of all time, with 6.86 million peak viewers, and the reports show that in 2025, esports is predicted to have 318 million dedicated viewers and 322.7 million occasional viewers.
As more people get exposed to poker through dedicated live streams that prioritize engaging their viewers, the number of fans live streaming poker will continue to increase and push poker closer to the esports’ live streaming numbers.
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