Strong engagement with EASL Champions Week by basketball fans across the region​

Last week’s East Asia Super League (EASL) Champions Week generated big audiences on media platforms and drew crowds to arenas as basketball fans in Asia embraced the official start of the pan-regional club competition.​

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EASL Champions Week took place in Japan on March 1-5 and saw eight of the best teams from the best leagues in the region battle it out over 10 games in Utsunomiya and Okinawa to see which would be crowned the region’s best.​

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Korean Basketball League team Anyang KGC took home the title, defeating rival Korean side Seoul SK Knights in the final on Sunday evening in Okinawa. Earlier that day, the Bay Area Dragons defeated hometown team Ryukyu Golden Kings in the third-place game.​

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EASL Champions Week was staged in Japan with the support of local hosts the B.LEAGUE and Sports Islands Okinawa. Fans across EASL’s core markets were able to watch live coverage of the tournament on a variety of platforms thanks to media rights agreements with 24 different broadcast and streaming companies. ​

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On social media, EASL Champions Week generated strong engagement from fans in different geographies. During the tournament period, EASL social media content reached 14 million fans, had almost 9 million video plays, and generated 6 million engagements. EASL social channels are continuing to publish post-game content this week, allowing fans to re-live the competition and catch up on action they may have missed.​

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EASL Champions Week provided a powerful platform for the competition’s official partners Spalding, Aglet, Fujifilm and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals (Pocari Sweat). There were also various activations and branding exposures for other brands such as Tochigi TV, Photoflyer, KGC, SK Telecom and San Miguel Beer.​

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The competition saw an average arena attendance across its five gamedays of 2,843 fans, with the final two days attracting over 5,000 fans each day to Okinawa Arena. ​

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In the crowds during EASL Champions Week were several special guests and dignitaries, including B.LEAGUE chairman Shinji Shimada, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial, KBL Commissioner Kim Heeok, P. LEAGUE+ CEO Charles Chen and FIBA Executive Director Hagop Khajirian, who showed up in-person to witness the first pan-regional club competition in East Asia since 2019.

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