ESL Impact League improves in viewership, but unable to match debut season numbers

Loading

The ESL Impact League Season 3 ran from June 2 to June 4 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. Recovering from a dip in Season 2, it became the second most popular edition in the series, but still lagged far behind the number one entry.

After a flawless run across the event, Nigma Galaxy Female beat NAVI Javelins 2:0 in the Playoffs Grand Final to take home the crown. The European Division side was handed $50K for its troubles, while its regional runner-up colleague pocketed $25K.

  Essential stats and most popular matches from the ESL Impact League Season 3   

The ESL Impact League Season 3 registered 28K Peak Viewers for the Day 1 battle from the Group Stage between NAVI Javelins and B4 Esports Female, a kind of derby between the two heavyweight regions of Europe and South America. It was more than twice more popular than the summit clash between Nigma Galaxy Female and NAVI Javelins, proving how much difference the Brazilian market can make to a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event if their chosen side does not fare well.

This also marked the general trend for the South American language at this competition, which will be discussed more later. The above trio was also part of the block of three sides that made two entries each in the list of most popular matches at this CS:GO competition. It also logged 107K Hours Watched and 3K Average Viewers over an airtime of 32 hours.

NAVI Javelins, Nigma Galaxy Female, and B4 Esports Female were the most sought-after teams at the ESL Impact League Season 3. In terms of watch hours, however, it was the Brazilian side that slightly edged out the winner of the competition to take the second spot.

When looking at average concurrent viewers, NAVI Javelins topped the table by beating the second-best side — Nigma Galaxy Female — by 52%. The Ukrainian side remains the organization when it comes to fan support in CS:GO, be it the men’s or women’s segments.

Only two languages were able to garner double digits in terms of the viewership pie for this ESL Impact League event. English was the undisputed number one here, while it also increased its total share from the previous edition. Only one other language made it to double figures for a percentage stake in the total chart.

As alluded to earlier, in the last season, English clinched slightly over half of the overall chart. Portuguese and Russian both had 8% more of the viewership pie, meaning they lost a lot of their viewers to English-speaking channels.

Gaules, the highly popular former Counter-Strike pro and coach and Twitch current streamer, was the most popular and second-most watched channel during this competition. In fact, the Tribo Gaules creator beat the other two handles combined on both metrics.

The most watched channel was the official English one for ESL CS:GO, while it was also the second most popular account. These numbers further cement the Brazilian online star’s legacy as one of the eminent gaming content creators globally, with an especially robust presence in his home region.

  Comparing the three seasons of the ESL Impact League   

The third season did much better than its predecessor, but it still fell way short of the first incarnation, which did some massive numbers. The ESL Impact League Season 1 did 854%, 292%, and 768% higher in terms of HW, PV, and AV, respectively, and it earned quite a reputation among fans.

However, the subsequent editions have come nowhere near reaching its stats, with the buzz created around the inaugural edition seemingly vanishing with each new tournament. With other disciplines also lining up female teams and events, the competition within these games has ensured that viewers have gotten diverted and broken up among the various tournaments happening, often simultaneously.

Also, Gaules did not stream season three as much as he did the first one, and that seemed to affect the former's stats. There was also someone like nahzinhaa, a former pro player of CS, missing from the streaming list, and her contributions were missed during the latest season.

This fall in CS:GO stats female esports is in stark contrast to Valorant, which has been growing in strength not only in men’s events but also for women. Riot Games has been doing a fabulous job in developing the female esports scene for this still fledgling FPS title, including hosting numerous competitions at all levels.

Another reason for the success of Valorant female esports, and perhaps the biggest one, is the influence of community casting. A popular way to watch tournaments from the start, it has become even more important at female events, with even independent streamers leaving their marks.

A good example is the recent VCT 2023: Game Changers EMEA, where official broadcasts accounted for only 16.2% of the total HW, while independent streamers took up 83.8%. It shows that the right usage of community casting, like with Valorant, can hugely boost viewership stats, and Valve would do well to adopt this practice for all its events, irrespective of the gender that is participating.

There is no doubt that female esports is slowly gaining traction and improving in every aspect as more and more disciples and teams accept it as a legitimate form of competition and route to success. While the ESL Impact League has not reflected this change, the organizers will hope that the next edition — ESL Impact League Season 4 — will be a harbinger to change and better things.