PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 kicks off with similar viewership to Paris Major, strong growth in several languages

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March 17th saw the first gaming day of the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, marking the inaugural major event in the history of Counter-Strike 2. Regarding overall viewership, the tournament kicked off almost similarly to the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023. However, there were significant shifts in the popularity of languages. English broadcasts attracted 45% fewer viewers than the previous major, while viewership for Portuguese, Russian, and Polish languages saw substantial growth.

The PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 began with matches in the Opening Stage, featuring winners from regional RMR qualifications. Cloud9, Heroic, and Eternal Fire asserted their positions as favorites by securing two wins each in the initial matches.

Brazilian teams had mixed results thus far. Legacy, against all odds, managed to defeat FURIA Esports and put up a good fight against Cloud9. GamerLegion, unexpectedly replacing 9Pandas just a day before the tournament, maintained a 1-1 record in their matches. At the bottom of the tournament standings after the first gaming day are The MongolZ, KOI, FURIA Esports, and AMKAL ESPORTS — two of these teams will exit the tournament after the second gaming day.

The game between ENCE and Imperial Esports was the most popular match of the first day. A total of 633K Peak Viewers tuned in to watch the victory of Brazilian team, with a great share of viewers doing so on Gaules' channel. The second-most-popular match was the Brazilian derby between FURIA Esports and Legacy — over 543K PV witnessed coldzera’s team securing an unexpected victory.

Overall, matches of the first day accumulated 5.3M Hours Watched, roughly 4% less than the first day of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023. However, this decline is primarily attributed to the difference in broadcast duration, as the first day of the Paris major lasted nearly an hour longer. In terms of concurrent viewership, there was minimal change compared to the previous major.

Language distribution in broadcasts saw a substantial shift. For instance, the peak viewership of English broadcasts for the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 decreased by 45% compared to the previous major's first day. Conversely, Portuguese and Russian broadcasts saw spikes of 63.6% and 66.5%, respectively. This can be attributed to the presence of many teams from Brazil, Portugal, and Russia in the Opening Stage. The increase in Polish viewership is particularly noteworthy, with a peak of over 111K viewers on the first day of the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, marking a 260% increase compared to the Paris major. Polish caster izakOOO played a significant role in this growth, streaming simultaneously on Twitch and YouTube.

PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 updates can be followed on the live coverage page.