Team Nigma topped the charts in a Europe-dominated list of Dota 2 teams ranked by the number of hours watched in 2020, according to Esports Charts.
Out of the top 10 teams, eight played in the European region, with the other two being CIS powerhouses Virtus Pro and Natus Vincere. It’s likely that some Chinese teams would have made the list considering the size of the market and its relatively robust competitive scene that saw the region resume hosting LAN events. But major Chinese streaming platforms are usually considered secondary sources by Esports Charts and likely weren’t included in the list.
The top three teams—Nigma, Team Secret, and OG—surpassed more than 30 million hours watched, buoyed by star power and consistently top-tier performances. Nigma had over 350 hours of airtime, only lower than Vikin.gg in the top 10, compared to Secret’s 289 hours and OG’s 269 hours. Team Liquid and Alliance round out the exclusively European top five.
Vikin.gg first made headlines with an upset series win over Secret during April’s ESL One Los Angeles Online tournament. Since then, the cosmopolitan team of pubstars formed in 2019 has enjoyed a meteoric rise as a mainstay in a competitive European scene and is now competing in the upper division of the Dota Pro Circuit Regional League.
North American team Evil Geniuses played just 68 games, electing to skip several tournaments starting in early September but still managed to creep into the top 10.
