VCT 2026 Stage 1 Posts Record-Low Group Viewership

VCT 2026 Stage 1 posted record-low group stage viewership across international leagues outside China. The EMEA circuit recorded the largest declines, with total hours watched down by more than 25% to roughly 8 million and peak concurrent viewers below 180,000.

The Pacific circuit produced the single highest peak concurrent audience of the group stage. An opening match between Paper Rex and Nongshim RedForce drew about 320,500 peak viewers. Paper Rex won 2-1, and Wang ‘Jingggg’ Jing Jie recorded 76 kills across three maps.

The Americas maintained the largest average audience during the group stage and led total watch time at 13.1 million hours. Compared with the prior year, the Americas logged an approximately 20% decline in both total watch time and peak concurrent viewers.

The Pacific reported an estimated 22% decline in peak viewers while keeping aggregate watch time roughly stable. Organizers reported lower Korean viewership for Stage 1 and growth in Japanese- and Thai-language audiences, which offset part of the decline.

China’s international viewership increased by 13.2%, but Chinese platforms use an internal “Heat Index” that does not measure concurrent viewers the same way as other services, making those figures not directly comparable. Relatively few international co-streamers covered Chinese matches during the group stage.

Declines in EMEA affected official broadcasts and co-streams. Several high-profile co-streamers in the region recorded lower numbers than in 2025; Spain’s Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas Colocho posted more than a 50% drop in average viewers for Stage 1 compared with the same stage in 2025. Other notable EMEA creators also saw substantial decreases in average viewership.

Co-streaming patterns varied by circuit. Brazil’s Heitor “Tck10” Tomazela was the most-watched co-streamer overall for Stage 1, focusing on Americas coverage. Pujan “FNS” Mehta led English-language co-streaming with about 2.37 million hours watched across the Americas, EMEA and Pacific. In Japan, Ushida “Lazvell” Kouji reached roughly 1.51 million hours and contributed to Japanese-language Pacific streams totaling more than 5.2 million hours. Connor “Sliggy” Blomfield remained a consistent EMEA co-streamer and ranked among the region’s most-watched.

Organizers and analysts did not identify a single cause for the overall declines. Organizers noted the regional viewership patterns and co-streamer performance will inform promotion, broadcast scheduling and audience engagement plans for upcoming stages of the VCT season.