First Overwatch Champions Series Finals reaches higher peak viewership than last Overwatch League Playoffs

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The inaugural season of the Overwatch Champions Series has come to a close, with the Overwatch Champions Series 2024 Finals having reached 159.9K Peak Viewers, the highest viewership the hero-shooter has received for an esports event in 2024. 

The new series is the replacement for Overwatch’s previous franchised Overwatch League circuit, which was dissolved following a majority of franchise owners voting to exit the league after the 2023 season. The new Overwatch Champions Series circuit has been divided into three regions: North America, EMEA, and Asia. 

In the new Overwatch landscape, Saudi Arabian organization Team Falcons became the first OWCS champions, thanks to the success of their Korean roster. The Saudi organization briefly competed in Overwatch back in 2021, but the dissolution of the OWL gave them a perfect opportunity to rejoin the scene. They signed various ex-OWL Korean players, who together boast 5 OWL championships, giving Falcons a step-up above the competition. 

Following the culmination of the OWCS 2024 season, the Finals event received 2.08M Hours Watched, maintaining 94.5K Average Viewers throughout the tournament. Viewership for the tournament was relatively stable throughout the entire weekend of competition, with many of the tournament’s matches hovering around the 100,000 concurrent viewers mark. 

Team Falcons were the ultimate champions of the event, but one team stands out ahead of the rest in terms of popularity here. Japanese organization Crazy Raccoon is a fan-favourite for Overwatch fans from Japan, although the team boasts a full roster of Korean players. Japan is one of the largest audiences for Overwatch esports, and fans were out in full force to support CR’s run through the Finals. 

The event’s showmatch was also quite popular, having accumulated 109,000 Peak Viewers. The showmatch featured various casters, hosts, and former professional players competing against each other. Some streamers also made an appearance, such as Jay3, Poko, and bogur. The showmatch saw all 10 players forced to play the same hero, Overwatch 2’s newest addition, Hazard. The tournament coincided with a public playtest of hazard, which was available from Nov 22–24. 

Toronto Defiant, the only former OWL franchised team to continue competition in the OWCS, was also a strong contender at the event. The team’s Lower Bracket Final match against Crazy Raccoon was the second-most-popular game of the entire event, having received 123.1K PV. 

While the most popular matches of the event give an idea of which teams are most popular, this largely depends on how far a team advances in a tournament, as matches closer to the ultimate Grand Final usually receive higher viewership. Esports Charts PRO subscribers can enjoy our ranking of the most popular teams at the event by their average concurrent viewership throughout all matches. 

Some of the teams we have already touched on appeared in our ranking, as well as two other esports organizations which could only enter Overwatch esports once its previous franchised league was dissolved. 

The dissolution of the OWL was not just an end for Overwatch esports, but a new beginning with the OWCS. The departure from the franchised league system has allowed some of esports’ most popular organizations to enter Overwatch, bringing some of their fans and followers to the esports title.

Comparing the viewership of the recent OWCS season-ending tournament compared to last year's Overwatch League Playoffs, viewership remains stable. The OWCS also brought the introduction of co-streamers to the esports title; these community streamers accounted for over 40% of the OWCS Finals' viewership.

While the OWCS reached a slightly higher peak viewership than last year's OWL Playoffs, the former premier circuit for Overwatch managed to reach a slightly higher average viewership. Generally, the later years of the OWL struggled to maintain the viewership it had previously enjoyed. The switch to the new de-franchised OWCS system could be a step in the right direction for Overwatch to begin to grow its viewership again. 

The Overwatch Champions Series brings a new flavour to Overwatch esports. Fan-favourite organizations from around the globe, like Crazy Raccoon and Team Falcons, have exploded to the top of game’s competitions, bringing their loyal fans with them. The 2025 OWCS season will give Blizzard, as well as EMEA/NA organizers ESL FACEIT Group and Asia organizer WDG, a chance to improve upon and build on the system they have established for the future.