Most popular esports matches in 2021
2021 was full of new viewership records. For example, Worlds 2021 has become one of the most-watched tournaments in the history of esports, and the final of the tournament topped the ranking of the most popular matches of the outgoing year. In the new article, we will check which other games attracted the most viewers and set new records in the respective disciplines.
Disclaimer: The top most popular matches were based on the Peak Viewers indicator, and the statistics of Chinese streaming services was not taken into account. Also battle royale games were excluded from the ranking.
The most popular match of 2021 was the Worlds 2021 Grand Final between EDward Gaming and DWG KIA which gathered 4M Peak Viewers! Worlds 2021 is by far the most popular esports tournament of all time, unless we consider the battle royale genre (in which case it is bypassed by Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore).
The second match in the top was also held at Worlds 2021. It was a Korean derby for the spot in the final between T1 and DWG KIA; it gathered 3.5M Peak Viewers. Thanks to the immense hype surrounding the matches, the League of Legends World Championship has exceeded the viewership of its rival TI10 by almost two times.
Grand final of The International 10 is only in 7th place. The match between PSG.LGD versus Team Spirit attracted 2.7M Peak Viewers. This is a record-breaking result for the discipline (previously, the TI9 grand final was in the lead with 1.9M Peak Viewers). At the same time, this is the only Dota 2 match that made it into the top 10 of the year. You can find more details about TI10 and its statistics in this article.
Six matches out of the top 10 took place at the pro tournaments in mobile MOBA Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. In 2021, the discipline hosted two world championships: M2 in January and M3 in December; that is why the discipline had so many matches featured in the top.
The January M2 final between Bren Esports and Burmese Ghouls, which attracted 3M Peak Viewers, held the record for the discipline for a long time. However, the encounter between Onic PH and RRQ Hoshi in the M3 playoffs was able to break that record. As a result, the M3 World Championship became the most-watched ML:BB tournament of all time, with 3.1M Peak Viewers. We covered the M3 and its records in more detail in this article.
The tenth spot in the ranking is occupied by the ML:BB pro league for Indonesia. The final of the MPL ID Season 8 between ONIC and EVOS Legends attracted 2.3M Peak Viewers.
The only non-MOBA tournament in the list is PGL Major Stockholm 2021 (CS:GO). The final between G2 and Natus Vincere attracted 2.7M viewers and became the sixth most popular esports match in 2021. It's important to note that CS:GO reached new record by viewers for the first time since ELEAGUE Major 2017, which was watched by up to 1.3M Peak Viewers.
The disciplines of League of Legends, Dota 2, and CS:GO are already familiar to us, but the presence in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang ranking clearly indicates how much the mobile titles have come close to the results of PC games. In the near future, Esports Charts will release other results of 2021, so subscribe to our social networks not to miss anything important.
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