Pacific Tops VCT Stage 1 as Americas, EMEA Viewers Fall

VCT 2026 Stage 1 viewership fell more than 20% in the Americas and EMEA. The Pacific circuit recorded 553,883 peak concurrent viewers during its grand final and more than 20,000,000 hours watched across the stage. A record-breaking Thai audience contributed to the Pacific peak.

Both the Americas and EMEA posted their weakest Stage 1 peak concurrent numbers on record. Total watch time in those two regions dropped by more than 20 percent compared with Stage 1 in 2025. The Americas recorded a decline of more than 24 percent in peak viewers from last year’s Stage 1.

Viewership figures from Chinese livestreaming platforms were excluded from standard concurrent-viewer comparisons because those services report an internal ‘Heat Index’ instead of concurrent-viewer metrics. Measured international interest in the China circuit, excluding on-platform Chinese viewership, fell by more than 70 percent versus 2025; the decline coincided with a reduction in international co-streamers covering the region.

Co-streaming drove substantial audience numbers during Stage 1 and the Playoffs. Brazil’s Heitor ‘Tck10’ Tomazela peaked at well over 50,000 concurrent viewers while covering Americas matches. Pujan ‘FNS’ Mehta led English-language co-streaming across the circuits, generating millions of hours watched and exceeding Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik by roughly 900,000 hours for Americas coverage. In Japan, Ushida ‘Lazvell’ Kouji drew more than 40,000 peak viewers for Pacific match coverage, at times surpassing the official Japanese broadcast.

Several high-profile teams did not qualify for Valorant Masters London: Fnatic, Sentinels and LOUD missed the event. The Pacific delegation will include teams such as Paper Rex.

Valorant Masters London will use the same format as Masters Santiago. Top-seeded teams from each International League advance directly to the Playoffs, while the remaining eight teams compete in a Swiss-group stage from June 6–10. The Playoffs run June 13–21. Matches are best-of-three except for the lower bracket final and grand final, which are best-of-five. Masters London will be held at the Copper Box Arena in London, the first international Valorant event hosted in the United Kingdom.

Masters London is one of the remaining events where teams can earn VCT Points on the path to Champions 2026.