Riot Games recently shared viewership data for its four VCT International leagues, with VCT China standing out as the most highly-watched tournament.
On Media Day, prior to the concluding matches of Valorant Champions 2024, Riot disclosed their internal viewership statistics for the VCT leagues. While the developer presented each league separately, one league in particular stood out as the most-watched competition by a significant margin.
According to Riot Games, the VCT China broadcast had the highest peak of concurrent viewers, reaching 1.88 million during the season. The second highest was VCT Americas, with 810,000 peak concurrent viewers.
VCT EMEA and VCT Pacific experienced significantly lower viewership numbers compared to the other two sister leagues, with 409,000 and 481,000 peak concurrent viewers respectively.
VCT league viewership numbers from the Riot Games presentation.
The viewership for China is particularly noteworthy because it was their first season participating in the international VCT events, as the region had previously competed in a separate tournament series until 2024.
Despite being impressive, these numbers should come as no surprise to devoted Valorant esports enthusiasts. China has consistently been a significant market for both Valorant and esports as a whole. Riot Games has previously announced that the region has significantly increased its viewership metrics.
China joined the Valorant esports scene slightly later than other countries, as players in the country had to wait for government approval before the VCT league could be established.
Prior to the government’s approval of the Riot title, Chinese Valorant teams had already participated in significant tournaments such as Valorant Champions 2022, VCT LOCK//IN, Masters Tokyo, and Valorant Champions 2023.
Despite not having won a VCT trophy yet, a Chinese Valorant team is still in contention for the region’s first title at Valorant Champions 2024, with EDwarding Gaming being a top contender.
The team has proven to be the top-performing team in the region on the international stage, achieving a top six placement at both Valorant Champions 2023 and Masters Madrid. On August 23, EDG will compete against Leviatán for the opportunity to secure a spot in the Valorant World Championship title match.
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