Twitch COO Kevin Lin On The Importance Of Live Stadium Events For E-Sports

As TechCrunch went full e-sports at the Intel Extreme Masters in San Jose, we managed to snag a quick interview with Twitch COO Kevin Lin.

We chatted about the importance of pro gaming events at large stadiums given the fact that Twitch’s League of Legends audience is competitive with major news networks. Lin says they’re something the players and fans both want: Players get to have their careers validated by seeing the industry’s scale grow around them, while fans get to see and hang out with the stars they follow on streams.

We also touched on how Twitch helps promote these live events and the ways the company has expanded the ways it helps its paid partners monetize their channels beyond video ads. In addition to helping star players connect with sponsors, Twitch recently launched an official fan swag store powered by Teespring.