BENTON, Ky. – Major League Fishing announced today a 67% year-over-year increase in livestream viewership and a record number of minutes viewed at General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. The all-star event, which took place May 18-23 in Kissimmee, Florida, marked the midpoint of the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season.

The 2024 General Tire Heavy Hitters 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 General Tire Heavy Hitters 2023 and makes the 2024 version of MLF’s unique big-fish tournament a top-5 livestreamed event in the history of Major League Fishing. 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 whopping 42% increase over the prior year.

“General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops has become a signature event on the Major League Fishing schedule, and we’re very excited to confirm that fishing fans watched the 2024 event in record numbers,” said Kathy Fennel, MLF Executive Vice President and General Manager. “The tournament was a very exciting event with numerous big fish caught, and our audience was extremely receptive to watching some old-school frog fishing. Kudos to the anglers on the water, as well as our amazing production team that captured some incredible footage throughout the week.

“We look forward to carrying this momentum into Stage Five of the Bass Pro Tour this week, as we bring fans another round of must-see programming from the Chowan River in North Carolina.”

The star-studded General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops event was hosted by Experience Kissimmee and featured 30 anglers who qualified from MLF’s 2023 Bass Pro Tour, competing in a six-day tournament on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes 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 an astounding $100,000 reward for the biggest bass in the Championship Round.

Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama, took home the Heavy Hitters Champion Belt and top prize of $100,000, while the GOAT of professional bass fishing, Bass Pro Shops pro Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, 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.

Television coverage of General Tire Heavy Hitters 2024 Presented by Bass Pro Shops at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes will be showcased across six two-hour episodes on Discovery, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Aug. 10 and running each Saturday through Sept. 14. The event will also premiere nationwide on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+ on Sunday, Dec. 8 from 3-4 p.m. ET or 5-6 p.m. ET (depending on local NFL schedule).

Proud sponsors of the 2024 General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, REDCON1, Star brite, Toyota, U.S. Air Force and YETI.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.