Who’re essentially the most watched esports groups?

Each sports activities group needs to draw followers to their matches, be it on-site in stadiums or on TV in native and worldwide competitions. Extra eyes appeal to extra sponsors and companions, which in flip will increase income and permits for brand new signings, amongst different issues. In esports, there are not often residence stadiums that groups play in and promote tickets for, so groups and match organisers primarily depend on stay streams on platforms comparable to Twitch and YouTube (in some areas, Kick or AfreecaTV) to attract eyes in the direction of them.

Throughout its comparatively brief historical past, some esports organisations have attracted extra viewers than others. On this article, Esports Insider has labored with information and analytics platform Esports Charts to search out out that are the highest 5 most-watched esports groups within the final seven years (when data started at Esports Charts).

You will need to point out that these statistics don’t embrace viewership from Chinese language streaming platforms, X (Twitter) broadcast viewership, or some Battle Royale video games. Probably the most notable metric for measuring esports group viewership is Hours Watched, which signifies how a lot time the viewers spends watching content material from a sure occasion or with a sure group in it. 

The metric supplies an correct indication of the recognition of an occasion or an esports organisation as a result of it takes into consideration each the viewership of an occasion and its length. This manner, we will, with an affordable diploma of certainty, examine which esports manufacturers are the most well-liked globally. 

Being watched is maybe a very powerful metric for an esports organisation as a result of the extra standard the model is and the higher attain it has, the extra publicity its companions obtain. This offers leverage to the organisation, which may command a higher earnings and thus spend extra on creating good content material and fielding the perfect gamers.

The figures under present a niche of about 200m Hours Watched between the third and fourth hottest groups, indicating simply how far aside the highest three are from their competitors.

Staff Liquid is among the largest esports organisations on this planet by many metrics, together with the variety of hours watched throughout streaming companies. The storied organisation is the oldest on this record, based in 2000. It additionally has essentially the most rosters of all of the groups on this record, with greater than 20 groups competing beneath the Staff Liquid banner in several areas and video games. Staff Liquid additionally operates Liquipedia, the world’s hottest esports wiki and database and a go-to supply for esports match data. 

Staff Liquid can also be one of many few actually worldwide organisations with headquarters in each Europe and North America. Regardless of an affiliation with North America amongst some followers, Staff Liquid additionally has a powerful id in Europe in sure esports scenes. It’s actively rising its presence in Asia, the place it now competes within the likes of MLBB because of its acquisition of two main groups, which helped increase its metrics. The organisation additionally established a significant esports facility in Brazil in 2023, underscoring its development in South America.

Staff Liquid’s dominance in Hours Watched is a results of its breadth. It has garnered such excessive numbers as a result of truth it has competed in virtually each standard sport, and has received titles in lots of them. Most not too long ago, Staff Liquid received The Worldwide 2024, the largest Dota 2 occasion of the yr and one of the vital standard occasions in all of esports. That is the second The Worldwide title for Liquid after its first in 2017. 

In the meantime, Staff Liquid’s Counter-Strike group had its peak in 2019 when it was the first-ever group to win the Intel Grand Slam, a $1m prize for successful a number of ESL-organised occasions in a single yr.  In League of Legends, the organisation has received a number of splits within the LCS.

In whole, Liquid has received greater than 70 trophies in a multitude of video games throughout its virtually 25-year historical past. These embrace notable wins in PUBG, Fortnite, Rainbow Six: Siege, and StarCraft, which was the primary sport that Liquid entered professionally. All these performances have racked as much as 864m Hours Watched for Staff Liquid throughout the seven years. Liquid not too long ago acquired an MLBB roster which competes within the MPL Indonesia, one of the vital standard cellular sport leagues on this planet.

T1 differs from different esports organisations on this record as a result of most of its giant following and spectacular viewership has come from a single sport: League of Legends.  Based on Esports charts, 88% of T1’s whole views come from its principal League of Legends roster. 

T1 can also be attention-grabbing as a result of it’s a three way partnership between South Korean telecommunications firm T1 and Comcast Spectacor, making it one of many uncommon esports organisations owned by giant corporations that has steadily survived for greater than a decade. The organisation now often called T1 was created in 2004 as SK Telecom T1 and has spent most of its life as a dominant drive in League of Legends, though its VALORANT roster has been making waves in 2024. 

T1 is the most well-liked League of Legends group ever, and essentially the most profitable by far. The group has received 4 Worlds titles, essentially the most of any organisation in historical past, and is the present double reigning world champion. The spectacular viewership quantity is usually fueled by the constant performances in Worlds, with two second-place finishes and two semi-final finishes additional including to the large quantity of hours watched. The group has additionally received dozens of different massive League of Legends tournaments, together with the 2024 version of the Esports World Cup.

In VALORANT, the group is part of the Pacific League, a extremely aggressive league that additionally comprises the likes of Gen.G and Paper Rex. Nonetheless, virtually the whole lot of its all-time viewership comes from League of Legends, making T1 an exceptionally distinctive group.

Some of the standard esports organisations throughout many titles, G2 Esports is a fan-favourite organisation with a novel fashion and strategy, largely distinguished by way of its social media content material and technique. G2 was based in 2014, and regardless of being one of many youthful groups with a worldwide attain, it is usually one of many fastest-growing and most profitable groups in a wide range of video games. G2 Esports was based by former League of Legends participant Carlos Rodriguez, who has since left the organisation. 

In-game, G2 Esports is essentially the most dominating group within the European League of Legends, successful essentially the most splits in historical past and reaching the Worlds last in 2019. Its Counter-Strike group is persistently ranked among the many prime 5 on this planet regardless of by no means successful a Valve-backed  Main. G2 Esports additionally received the Six Invitational in Rainbow Six: Siege in 2019 and 2023 and could be very standard in Rocket League. In VALORANT, G2 Esports entered the Americas league in 2024 as an Ascension group after buying the previous Guard roster. Ever since G2 has been one of the vital standard VALORANT rosters within the Americas.

One of many pioneers of European esports as we all know it, Fnatic is among the older manufacturers on the scene and one of the vital standard. Created in 2004, Fnatic has competed in dozens of video games however, just like NAVI, noticed most of its success in Counter-Strike (CS). Fnatic was the primary organisation to win a number of Majors, essentially the most prestigious sort of CS match, with three titles to its title. 

In the meantime, in League of Legends, Fnatic is the one European group to ever win the League of Legends World Championship, having carried out so within the first-ever version again in 2011. The Fnatic League of Legends group was additionally runner-up at Worlds 2018. In VALORANT, Fnatic has additionally been very profitable, successful the Masters Tokyo in 2023. 

Exterior of competitors, Fnatic has a devoted {hardware} section and produces peripherals comparable to mice and keyboards.

Natus Vincere, or NAVI, is an Ukrainian esports organisation based in December 2009. The model is called one of the vital profitable esports groups on this planet, and the most well-liked esports organisation in Jap Europe. The recognition of NAVI may be straight attributed to its Counter-Strike group, one of many strongest within the historical past of the sport. 

NAVI is the one group that has participated in all 20 Counter-Strike Majors, and is a file holder for many Main finals appearances with six. The group has additionally received an Intel Grand Slam and has amassed roughly 9.4m from Counter-Strike prize cash throughout its historical past, per EsportsEarnings. NAVI was additionally the long-time residence to Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyljev, one of many best gamers within the historical past of CS. 

Aside from CS, NAVI has rosters in numerous video games, together with VALORANT, PUBG and PUBG MOBILE, Dota 2 and others. NAVI additionally had a profitable StarCraft 2 roster for a very long time, nevertheless it was disbanded in 2024. 

With esports viewership nonetheless rising, these prime groups will seemingly proceed getting extra standard. However the make-up of the highest 5 might also be challenged. Two Saudi-based esports organisations, Twisted Minds and Staff Falcons, have the very best variety of energetic rosters presently (32 and 31), and are maybe rising their viewership essentially the most when in comparison with different groups as a result of sheer variety of video games performed. 

As well as, groups from the SEA area may also profit lots from the upcoming, ever-popular M6 World Championship in MLBB, the place the likes of Rex Regum Quon, EVOS and Bren Esports will all compete. With the expansion of the MLBB scene globally, there’s a sturdy probability {that a} group most notable for his or her MLBB success may break into the highest 5. 

Nonetheless, on condition that the highest three are head and shoulders above their competitors, we’re unlikely to see these names — Staff Liquid, G2 Esports and T1 — disappear any time quickly.