Riot Games revealed some viewership numbers for its four VCT International leagues, and VCT China was by far the most watched competition.
On Media Day, ahead of the final matches of Valorant Champions 2024, Riot revealed its internal numbers for the viewership behind its VCT leagues. The developer showcased each league individually, but one stood out as the most-matched competition by far.
According to Riot Games, the VCT China broadcast peaked at 1.88 million concurrent viewers during the season. The next closest league was VCT Americas, which saw 810,000 peak concurrent viewers.
VCT EMEA and VCT Pacific saw significantly less viewership than its two sister leagues, bringing in 409,000 and 481,000 peak concurrent viewers respectively.
The viewership for China is even more impressive considering that it was its debut season as before 2024 the region had a different tournament series altogether that qualified them for international VCT events.
While impressive, the numbers should not be surprising to diligent Valorant esports fans. China has been a major audience for Valorant and esports in general. Riot Games has stated previously that the region has bumped up its viewership metrics.
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China entered Valorant esports a little later than the rest of the world as players in the country had to wait for the government to approve the title to get its VCT league.
Chinese Valorant teams did compete in major tournaments before the government approved the Riot title, appearing at Valorant Champions 2022, VCT LOCK//IN, Masters Tokyo, and Valorant Champions 2023.
A Chinese Valorant team has not yet lifted a VCT trophy, however, EDwarding Gaming is still in the running to claim the region’s first title at Valorant Champions 2024.
The team has been the region’s best performer on the international stage so far, finishing top six at Valorant Champions 2023 and Masters Madrid. EDG will face off against Leviatán for a chance at the Valorant World Championship title match on August 23.
