VALORANT Champions 2023: Viewership Numbers and Potential Missing Data
The VALORANT Champions 2023 tournament has been filled with action, upsets, and drama. However, the publicly available viewership numbers for the group stage suggest a slight decline compared to previous years. It’s important to note that a significant portion of data is missing, which could potentially elevate global viewership to record highs.
During the entire group stage of Champions 2023, the peak viewership reached 713,960 viewers in the Group D decider match between NAVI and LOUD, according to data from Esports Charts. Three other matches also surpassed the 600K mark. Overall, the event has averaged 404,768 viewers over 59 hours of airtime, resulting in 23.9 million hours watched.
Related: VALORANT Champions 2023 scores, schedule, and format
Based on this data, the numbers fall slightly short compared to the group stages of Champions in 2021 and 2022. The group stage of those years averaged 425,887 and 490,607 viewers respectively, with peak viewership reaching 836,991 and 860,353 viewers. These previous events generated 30.3 million and 31.9 million hours watched.
However, it’s important to note that this data is missing a significant demographic: Chinese streaming numbers. The Champions 2023 broadcast platform FAQ section does not mention major Chinese streaming services like Huya, Douyu, and Bilibili. Not only are there more Chinese teams competing in Champions 2023 than any other international event, but it’s also the region’s best performance with Bilibili and EDG reaching playoffs.
Esports Charts explains in a post about Chinese viewership that platforms like Huya and Douyu don’t display viewer counts but use a “Heat” index to measure various factors. Despite this, with China’s growing presence in VALORANT and the size of the streaming market there, the rise in Chinese viewership could make up for the difference in overall viewership.
It’s worth mentioning that non-Chinese viewership has experienced a slight drop this year. There could be a couple of factors contributing to this decline. Firstly, some of the most watched teams from the Americas and EMEA, such as Sentinels, Karmine Corp, BBL Esports, and KOI, didn’t qualify for Champions. Additionally, the tournament’s location in Los Angeles and the time zone make it challenging for EMEA fans to stay up late and for Pacific fans to wake up early to watch.
VALORANT Champions 2023, viewership numbers, group stage, global viewership, Chinese streaming, Huya, Douyu, Bilibili, VALORANT esports, Esports Charts, VALORANT Champions 2023 format, Chinese viewership.