VALORANT Champions 2023 group stage numbers may be lower, but they’re missing a key factor

VALORANT Champions 2023 has not been short on action, upsets, or drama, yet the publicly available viewership numbers for the group stage would indicate a slight decline compared to previous years. However, a significant portion of the data is missing that could potentially elevate global viewership to record highs.

After just over a week of play, across the entire group stage, Champions 2023 peaked at 713,960 viewers during the Group D decider match between NAVI and LOUD, according to data from Esports Charts. Three other matches surpassed the 600K mark during the group stage. Overall, the event has averaged 404,768 viewers over 59 hours of airtime, which has generated 23.9 million hours watched.

Related: VALORANT Champions 2023 scores, schedule, and format

According to this data, these numbers would fall just short of both the Champions group stages for 2021 and 2022. The group stage averaged 425,887 and 490,607 viewers in the first two years respectively, peaked at 836,991 and 860,353 viewers, and generated 30.3 million and 31.9 million hours watched.

But this data is missing a massive demographic: the Chinese streaming numbers. The FAQ section for Champions 2023 broadcast platforms does not mention any of the major Chinese streaming services such as Huya, Douyu, and Bilibili (yes the same Bilibili that knocked off NRG not once, but twice). Not only are there more Chinese teams competing at Champions 2023 than any other international event, but it’s also the best the region has performed, with both Bilibili and EDG reaching playoffs.

Unfortunately, as Esports Charts explains in a post about Chinese viewership, sites like Huya and Douyu don’t show viewer counts but use a “Heat” index that measures multiple factors like concurrents, broadcast duration, interaction, and more. Still, with how prevalent China is quickly becoming in VALORANT, and given the size of the streaming market there, the rise in Chinese viewership could make up the difference

It is worth noting that non-Chinese viewership has dropped a little bit this year. This could be due to a couple of factors. For one, some of the most watched teams from the Americas and EMEA this year didn’t make Champions, including Sentinels, Karmine Corp, BBL Esports, and KOI. Additionally, the Los Angeles location and time zone make it so EMEA fans have to stay up way late to watch, while Pacific fans need to get up incredibly early.