BENTON, Ky. – Major League Fishing announced today a 67-percent year-over-year increase in livestream viewership and a record number of minutes viewed at Heavy Hitters on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Florida. The all-star event, which took place May 18-23, marked the midpoint of the 2024 Bass Pro Tour Season.
The event set a new MLF record of more than 21 million minutes viewed on MLF platforms, including the MLFNOW! livestream at MajorLeagueFishing.com , MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) and Rumble. That surpasses the previous record set during Heavy Hitters 2023 and makes the 2024 version of MLF’s unique big-fish tournament a Top-5 livestreamed event in the history of MLF. In addition to the record-breaking minutes viewed, the event yielded more than 840,000 video views, as well as 9.8 million social media impressions, a 42-percent increase over the prior year.
Heavy Hitters featured 30 anglers who qualified from MLF’s 2023 Bass Pro Tour, competing in a six-day tournament for a purse of more than $500,000. In addition to the top prize of $100,000, anglers also competed for Berkley Big Bass Bonuses of $10,000 for each day of the four-day Qualifying Rounds, $30,000 for the Knockout Round and a $100,000 reward for the biggest bass in the Championship Round.
Jordan Lee (pictured) took home the Heavy Hitters Champion Belt and top prize of $100,000, while Kevin VanDam finished his final professional tournament with a $100,000 cash prize and trophy for the biggest bass in the Championship Round – a largemouth weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces.
