ImperialHal and NICKMERCS show how important co-steaming is for Apex esports

Apex Legends has grown to become one of the biggest battle royale games in the entire world, constantly breaking player base records with the new season releases, and the game’s competitive ecosystem is no different. Over the past three years of the Apex Legends Global Series, more and more players are becoming interested in the highest level of competition thanks to the combined efforts of the competitive community.

According to EsportsCharts tallie posted on May 10, the ALGS wrapped up Split Two with the highest viewership in ALGS Pro League history, peaking at 4.2 million hours watched across all platforms.  PlayApex’s Twitch channel grew 68 percent in peak viewers between Split One and Split Two, but is outperformed by the North American pros and content creators, who boast the highest coverage in the Pro League.

TSM’s ImperialHal streamed his perspective of the ALGS to the highest viewership numbers, racking up 1.2 million hours watched, while peaking at just above 50,700 viewers. In comparison, the PlayApex channel came in third place for both stats, falling behind Tripod’s NICKMERCS in peak viewers and 100 Thieves NiceWigg’s official watch party in total watch time.

TSM’s win at the Split One Playoffs on Feb. 5 helped to boost the interest in the ALGS, as English became the most popular language of all ALGS channels, making up 94.2 percent of the total hours watched in Split Two. North America’s Pro League led all major regions, overtaking APAC North’s Split One viewership by one million hours watched, and leads in all other metrics.

The ALGS offers Command Center on their Twitch channel, an option to spectate multiple players and teams’ point of view during any match. Pros can also stream their own perspectives with a time delay, a boon that retained and grew the overall ALGS viewership when Respawn disabled Command Center halfway through Split Two to fix the overwhelming server issues and crashes.

The success and growth of the ALGS can be attributed to more than just ImperialHal, as many pros and content creators give back to both the competitive and casual communities through third-party tournaments, weekly podcasts and multiple streams for any new or returning viewer to pick and choose which to watch.

NICKMERCS’ most recent MFAM Gauntlet featured pros and content creators battling in Team Deathmatch, while the announcement of Realm’s SoloQ League gave pros a new way to showcase the highest level of gameplay in an environment similar to the traditional ranked ladder. With cash prizes on the line, many content creators flocked to Realm, exposing a wider casual audience to competitive Apex, and encouraged them to return for the weekly ALGS matches and coverage.

While the pros streamed their gameplay during the official match days, NiceWigg and previous ALGS commentator Falloutt boosted the Apex community with two new weekly podcasts midway through Split Two. Each invited pros from across North America to discuss their results every week of the ALGS and amplify their opinions on the current state of Apex, helping the average viewer connect with their favorite players and creating new supporters leading up to the regional finals and the London LAN.

The Split Two Playoffs return to the Copper Box Arena in London, U.K., from July 13 to 16, featuring 40 international teams from all five leagues, battling once again through a double elimination bracket to be crowned champions of Split Two. With TSM returning to defend their Split One Playoffs crown, the ALGS is poised to break their records once again at the most exciting LAN event of 2023.