T1 sweeps VCT Pacific Stage 1; Korean viewership drops 50%

T1 completed the VCT 2026 Pacific Stage 1 group stage with a 5–0 record. Korean-language watch time for the Group Stage fell almost 50% year over year, totaling just under 1 million hours, while the Pacific region recorded about 11.4 million hours watched, a 12.8% decline from the same stage in 2025.

Measured across local streaming platforms and the event’s official global broadcast, Korean hours watched were roughly half of the previous year’s total. The Group Stage marked the lowest Korean audience total in VCT Pacific Stage 1 history. Three Korean teams-T1, NongShim RedForce and DRX-advanced from the group stage to the playoffs.

T1 entered the season after winning a Masters title in the prior year. Earlier in 2026 the roster exited Masters Santiago in the group stage and did not win the regional Kickoff finals. Despite its 5–0 performance at Pacific Stage 1, T1 did not rank among the most-watched teams during the Group Stage.

Viewership in other Asian markets held steady or increased. Japanese, Vietnamese and Indonesian audiences either grew or remained level compared with 2025, with matches featuring local teams drawing notable peaks. Matches that included DetonatioN FocusMe, ZETA DIVISION and Indonesia’s Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ) registered strong local support.

The single most-watched Group Stage match was Paper Rex versus NongShim RedForce. Paper Rex also drew high global viewership for close, overtime games against Gen.G and NongShim. From the group that contained T1, ZETA DIVISION versus RRQ posted the highest peak, drawing more than 306,000 concurrent viewers, with over 188,000 of those concurrent viewers from Japan. By comparison, Gen.G’s run to the VCT 2025 Pacific Stage 1 finals had previously driven more than 100,000 concurrent Korean viewers.

International English-language viewership fell year over year as well; the top match in 2026 had 95,000 fewer peak viewers than the top match in 2025. The Pacific Stage 1 playoffs begin on May 7. The playoff bracket will award three qualification spots for Masters London 2026. DetonatioN FocusMe, Paper Rex, T1 and RRQ are among the teams still in contention for those spots.