Huge VCT Downfall

First week Kickoff peak viewership 2024 vs 2025
Americas Kickoff 2024 viewers hit 590k vs. Kickoff 2025 hit 350k.
Pacific Kickoff 2024 viewers hit 460k vs. Kickoff 2025 hit 370k.
EMEA Kickoff 2024 viewers hit 290k vs. Kickoff 2025 hit 330k.
If Riot keeps thinking Valorant can achieve what LoL achieved and continues to follow the old-school LoL style, they will end up as just another mid-tier competitive game forever.

Emea is increasing because the quality is increasing

The others decrease because quality decrease

In average, 447k(2024) to 350k(2025)

but bro, kickoff isn't even over yet
we haven't even had one qualification game

Aayan [#4]

but bro, kickoff isn't even over yet
we haven't even had one qualification game

Exactly peak viewership should be in the finals/eliminators. Do people watch Champions League group stages or the knockouts?

It tends to happen to esports tho like when the game is new people tend to watch it cuz everyone is watching it you can say it's like a trend but as time goes on the trend diminishes and those people who are not core fans of valo stops watching VCT or even stops playing the game , to play the games that is trending at present. So ig the core fans will still watch it and after some time the viewership will stay constant until the game becomes super old

The peak should be finals

Aayan [#4]

but bro, kickoff isn't even over yet
we haven't even had one qualification game

I compared only First week vs first week.

Aayan [#4]

but bro, kickoff isn't even over yet
we haven't even had one qualification game

He is talking about First week viewership not allover bro

Prathades [#7]

The peak should be finals

SEN vs. LOUD and LEV vs. LOUD group stage 590k

WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT.

In 2024:
The bracket was made such that we had a SEN team that finally had hope (bringing hype and so many viewers), a LOUD team that people still rallied behind because saadhak less (brazilian viewers + can qck live up to aspas), a LEV with the first team aspas has ever left loud for + c0m + kingg and tex all on one team (more hype and viewers), and a 100T roster with piggy man himself boostio coming off a champs win to revive the squad

Of COURSE americas will be worse in viewers when:

• Brazil's hope in MIBR dies instantly with the 100T ass whooping
• SEN lose Tenz and Sacy, two incredible players but also huge for viewership
• LOUD lost their 2 most iconic players left from the 2022 squad, and no one cares about pancada anymore viewer wise
• all the opening stage matches end up being asswipes and not even close
• only good game throughout all of americas ends up being SEN 100T, and even then its not really close in scoreline

Look back at group B and you'll see that those games were not incredibly entertaining and close matches, and much better from a viewer perspective than this year, leading to less americas viewers

What should Riot do than>?

c4rrotstix [#11]

WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT.

In 2024:
The bracket was made such that we had a SEN team that finally had hope (bringing hype and so many viewers), a LOUD team that people still rallied behind because saadhak less (brazilian viewers + can qck live up to aspas), a LEV with the first team aspas has ever left loud for + c0m + kingg and tex all on one team (more hype and viewers), and a 100T roster with piggy man himself boostio coming off a champs win to revive the squad

Of COURSE americas will be worse in viewers when:

• Brazil's hope in MIBR dies instantly with the 100T ass whooping
• SEN lose Tenz and Sacy, two incredible players but also huge for viewership
• LOUD lost their 2 most iconic players left from the 2022 squad, and no one cares about pancada anymore viewer wise
• all the opening stage matches end up being asswipes and not even close
• only good game throughout all of americas ends up being SEN 100T, and even then its not really close in scoreline

Look back at group B and you'll see that those games were not incredibly entertaining and close matches, and much better from a viewer perspective than this year, leading to less americas viewers

The Brazil point actually makes sense VCT Americas has a huge following in Brazil and rn every SA team except Loud is suffering against the NA teams

shaggyboy1030 [#9]

He is talking about First week viewership not allover bro

yeah, he edited to clarify

1 week and an idiot already calling it a "downfall" lmao

Aayan [#14]

yeah, he edited to clarify

Oh didn't see that my bad

Aayan [#14]

yeah, he edited to clarify

No I just edit to correct the word peek to peak. lol

kfan4238173 [#2]

Emea is increasing because the quality is increasing

The others decrease because quality decrease

except the pacific quality actually increased

Dybala21 [#15]

1 week and an idiot already calling it a "downfall" lmao

Why not if we compared first week to first week. Downfall on first week section can't count for downfall if the number fall on the same phase in that year? so weird...

I feel for the sentiluls fans who refused to watch matches because they knew their team was barely winning, on the other side, every team is improving a lot, it must be so hard for them.

There are several reason why the Pacific and Americas leagues are struggling in particular:

Japanese teams are playing poorly and it is one of the largest contributors to Pacific viewership so less incentive to watch when your region is bad.

Tenz is gone (Many people from Asia including many Japanese fans used to tune into Americas to watch sentinels and most of them are loyal to Tenz- not sentinels(there was a 92% Drop in Japanese viewership for Vct Americas this kickoff compared to the previous one)

The Japanese T2 league is by FAR the most popular T2 region they peaked at nearly 220k viewers in VCL Japan 2024: Split 2 so it probably explains a major chunk of the viewership from pacific.

Now I should also note that this years format is different so people might be waiting for the more important matches (elimination / Semi finals / Grand Finals etc )

merciless-pity8989-89 [#18]

except the pacific quality actually increased

idk i dont rlly watch that region. sending ban and governor to champs is definitely a bad look for apacs past self, so if that doesnt happen maybe

all i know is that rrq would be the best team itw if they had boostio instead of estrella

PlasmatheGoat [#21]

There are several reason why the Pacific and Americas leagues are struggling in particular:

Japanese teams are playing poorly and it is one of the largest contributors to Pacific viewership so less incentive to watch when your region is bad.

Tenz is gone (Many people from Asia including many Japanese fans used to tune into Americas to watch sentinels and most of them are loyal to Tenz- not sentinels(there was a 92% Drop in Japanese viewership for Vct Americas this kickoff compared to the previous one)

The Japanese T2 league is by FAR the most popular T2 region they peaked at nearly 220k viewers in VCL Japan 2024: Split 2 so it probably explains a major chunk of the viewership from pacific.

Now I should also note that this years format is different so people might be waiting for the more important matches (elimination / Semi finals / Grand Finals etc )

Laz retiring definitely took a toll on the numbers is the primary reason imo, performance wise historically they're never favored to win so while I think it played a role I don't think that's the main reason.

I would like to point out that in the 2024 bracket all the group stage games were practically done all in a week whereas this year we have had 0 elimination games so far.

I feel like if we compare the elim games then it will be much closer. Americas wont be as big as last year even with more core vct viewers, simply bc of the sen and loud run last year.

that 590k came in sen vs loud game
and 460k came in zeta vs T1 game
next week of games for americas and pacific should cross 400k even 500k (if the matches are close) considering they have sen vs loud and prx vs zeta.

c4rrotstix [#11]

WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT.

In 2024:
The bracket was made such that we had a SEN team that finally had hope (bringing hype and so many viewers), a LOUD team that people still rallied behind because saadhak less (brazilian viewers + can qck live up to aspas), a LEV with the first team aspas has ever left loud for + c0m + kingg and tex all on one team (more hype and viewers), and a 100T roster with piggy man himself boostio coming off a champs win to revive the squad

Of COURSE americas will be worse in viewers when:

• Brazil's hope in MIBR dies instantly with the 100T ass whooping
• SEN lose Tenz and Sacy, two incredible players but also huge for viewership
• LOUD lost their 2 most iconic players left from the 2022 squad, and no one cares about pancada anymore viewer wise
• all the opening stage matches end up being asswipes and not even close
• only good game throughout all of americas ends up being SEN 100T, and even then its not really close in scoreline

Look back at group B and you'll see that those games were not incredibly entertaining and close matches, and much better from a viewer perspective than this year, leading to less americas viewers

Except the fact that it's actually Loud who has pulled the highest viewership with both their matches being top 2 while Sen vs 100T is the game which saw sharpest decline in viewership losing out to even Loud vs EG .