The Overwatch 2 tournament at the Esports World Cup has achieved a peak viewership of 100,188, marking a notable milestone for the event, though this figure reflects a decrease compared to last month’s Overwatch Champions Series 2024 Major.
Taking place at the Qiddiya Arena, the Overwatch event recorded an average viewership of 33,310 over its 51-hour runtime, according to data from the esports analytics platform Esports Charts. This average is significantly lower than the Overwatch Champions Series 2024 Major, which had an average viewership of 97,364 over a shorter runtime of approximately 27 hours. The peak viewership for the Esports World Cup event saw a decline of about 25,000 viewers from the previous major.
Overwatch was announced as part of the Esports World Cup back in May 2024 following significant changes in its esports ecosystem. The Overwatch League was shut down toward the end of 2023, leading to a partnership between the ESL FACEIT Group and Activision Blizzard to create the Overwatch Champions Series, revitalizing competitive Overwatch.
Tournament Highlights
The Esports World Cup Overwatch event culminated in a thrilling Grand Final where Japanese organization Crazy Raccoon triumphed over Toronto Ultra, owned by OverActive Media. Despite their second-place finish, Toronto Ultra emerged as the most popular team based on total hours watched, amassing 674,800 hours compared to Crazy Raccoon’s 487,800 hours.
The English-speaking broadcasts were the most viewed, reaching a peak of 68,900 viewers. Other popular language broadcasts included Arabic (19,997), Spanish (14,378), Japanese (11,492), and Portuguese (9,017).
Streaming Platform Performance
In terms of streaming platforms, Twitch dominated with 89,475 viewers, far surpassing TikTok Live's 13,867. YouTube (5,401), Afreeca TV (5,018), and Kick (979) accounted for smaller portions of the viewership. It’s important to note that Esports Charts does not track viewership from Chinese streaming sites, and the platform has been recognized as an official partner of the Esports World Cup.