Each year, dozens of high-profile sports events and tournaments attract live and remote viewers from around the world. Whether regional or global competitions, from the FIFA World Cup to the NCAA’s March Madness, fans like to use offers from different brands to back their favorite team. The longer the interval between competitions, the more attention is garnered.
And in the case of international competitions, any time an athlete represents their country, there are added stakes for home fans. In 2023, quite a few tournaments pit nations against one another. For example, rugby union’s Six Nations, the European Games (upcoming), the Women’s World Cup (upcoming), and smaller competitions like the World Beach Games.
Other competitions are more niche and specialized, like this year’s Gay Games, the AFL Grand Final, and the Handball World Championships—all upcoming. Despite playing out on a smaller world stage, these tournaments might still see attention from sports fans who don’t normally follow the game. That’s because athletic highlights tend to make their rounds in major publications regardless of the sport.
We’ve rounded up some of the best stories from 2023’s biggest sports events so far. Keep reading for some of the year’s top highlights.
Super Bowl: Patrick Mahomes, Part II
Back in 2020, quarterback Patrick Mahomes helped steer the Kansas City Chiefs to their first NFL Super Bowl win in fifty years. In early February, he did it again. After bringing home the league’s award for the best regular-season player, he also nabbed his second Super Bowl MVP award.
That’s because Mahomes managed to complete 21 of 27 passes during the game for a total of 182 yards. Even against a sub-par team, that’s a feat. But Mahomes managed to do it against the Philadelphia Eagles, battling against the team’s impressive quarterback, Jalen Hurts, to win the game 38-35. Not only was it a nail-biter until the very end of the game, but it was also one of the highest-scoring championship games on the books.
NCAA March Madness: LSU Takes Home First Title
When it comes to the US’s NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, most of the attention is focused on the men’s game. However, this year marked one of the most compelling battles in the women’s competition. It was the first year that Louisiana State University (LSU) took home a women’s national title after defeating Iowa.
The star of the team is Angel Reese, who recently was named the SEC Player of the Year. Throughout the tournament, she dazzled fans with double-double performances. However, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark helped even the odds. Throughout the tournament, Clark looked like a solid contender to lead her team to a national title. During a game against the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, she sank 41 points on her way to the championship. In the Finals match, she and Reese went head-to-head multiple times.
World Baseball Classic: Japan Topples US
For those who don’t follow North America’s MLB or Japan’s NPB, both nations have highly competitive pro baseball leagues. In fact, some of the MLB’s top players have spent time on NPB rosters, along with South Korea’s KBO league. This year, baseball fans were treated to an all-star battle in the World Baseball Classic finals.
Japan faced off against the US, which pitted some teammates against one another. Specifically, all eyes were on Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout—both top players on the LA Angels roster. But the odds were stacked against the US. Not only were Japan competing for their third World Baseball title, but they also managed to skate through the tournament undefeated, holding on to their title until the end. They defeated the US 3-2 in the final game, after which Ohtani was named the MVP.
Masters: McIlroy Falls, Rahm Rises
This year, all eyes were on the PGA Masters for a few reasons. First, the PGA is in a battle with LIV Golf to steer the future of the sport—and events like the Masters pit ‘PGA’ golfers against ‘LIV’ golfers. Second, all eyes were on Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy to don the green jacket.
However, the event went in an unexpected direction. Not only did McIlroy drop out early, but other underdogs quickly rose. Phil Mickelson was one of them. The seasoned golfer doesn’t have too many fans left in the industry, but no one would argue that he put on one of his best performances to date. However, it was Spain’s Jon Rahm who nabbed the title after shooting a three-under-par 69 at Augusta National.
Six Nations: Ireland Wins in Dublin
For those who don’t follow rugby, Six Nations is one of its top-tier competitions. Each year, the tournament pits the national teams from Ireland, England, France, Scotland, Wales, and Italy against one another. Last year, France nabbed the title. But this year, the tournament was hosted in Dublin—and it was a major win for the Irish.
Ireland toppled England in the final match. In doing so, they brought home their 15th Six Nations title and their 13th Triple Crown. In Six Nations, a Triple Crown is a win that comes on home turf. But it was also a Grand Slam (the fourth for Ireland), which is a title that’s given only if a team manages to beat all five competing nations during the tournament. Unsurprisingly, the festivities in Dublin were hard to beat after this year’s title grab.
eSports: VCT 2023 (Sao Paolo) Sets Viewership Standards
The world of eSports competitions is quite complex. Most leagues structure the year with qualifying events that culminate in a larger championship tournament, which can make it hard for newcomers to jump in. But this year, the VCT 2023 event set new records for viewership. The Valorant Champions Tour pitted 32 teams against one another in a single-elimination bracket.
Fnatic took home first place, with LOUD in second. The event averaged 430,000 viewers but had a peak viewership during the championship event of 1.43 million—which is a strong indication that eSports is now nudging its way into traditional sports territory. (For context, Six Nations brought in around nine million viewers during its peak.)
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