Arena of Valor regional leagues — RoV Pro League maintains growth as AIC nears
On October 20, a couple of regional leagues on the Arena of Valor calendar ended, completing the line-up for the Arena of Valor International Championship 2024. The eighth iteration under the AIC franchise will see 16 teams from across the globe battle it out for the tag of world champion.
The first of the two events to end was the RoV Pro League 2024 Winter, held across multiple venues in Bangkok from August 17 to October 20. It built on the success of the last few splits to emerge as the most successful tournament in the series, furthering the growth of a game often associated with being insulated to the Asian region.
This competition saw eArena beat Bacon Time 4:2 in the Grand Final to emerge as the champion and take home around $181,000. The two sides, along with the rest of the top five, also confirmed their slots at the AIC 2024, which will held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in November and December.
For Bacon Time, perhaps the most successful esports organization in this regional league, it was a third straight defeat in the summit clash. Impressively, the side has made the Grand Final in the last six splits, winning three, but the inability to convert these sojourns into the last match into more victories will no doubt be something the management will look to address in the future.
The RoV Pro League 2024 Winter recorded 366.5K Peak Viewers during the summit clash. It was a new record for the RoV Pro League, beating the previous holder, the RoV Pro League 2023 Winter, by 17.28%. These two remain the only two competitions in the series to cross the 300K PV mark.
This Thai Arena of Valor tournament also registered 12.6M Hours Watched and 64.1K Average Viewers over 197 hours of airtime. The latter was also a series record, surpassing RoV Pro League 2022 Winter by 13.58% after becoming the first event to pass the 12 million HW barrier.
What helped this edition emerge as the most successful was the clash of the most followed sides in the Grand Final. It was the perfect match to help this series reach new viewership milestones, and the fact that they had met earlier in the Playoffs (Upper Bracket Final), where eArena won, meant fans were eager to see if Bacon Time could avenge this defeat while also finally ending its losing finalist curse.
The 2024 winter iteration was also covered by a lot more channels, including co-casting being allowed this year, which helped it reach a wider audience. This was especially true with TikTok, which emerged as the second most preferred platform for Thai viewers, with the official channel finishing as one of the most successful ones.
There was also the AOV Star League Winter 2024, which might not be the biggest name in the game's esports segment but remains a crucial cog in its overall ecosystem. This Indonesian regional league was nowhere near matching series-high numbers, but tournament winner Old Man's will head to the AIC 2024 looking to put its country back on the map.
When looking at all-time AoV events, the RoV Pro League 2024 Winter is the most popular one, not counting global championships or the Vietnamese regional league, which is by far the most popular one in the game and often rivals the viewership figures of international competitions.
Ditto when it comes to the most-watched AoV events, with this Thai offering even overtaking some older global tournaments. Slowly but surely, this series is making its way up to becoming one of the must-see ones on the annual Arena of Valor international calendar.
Participating teams at the AIC 2024
Looking ahead, the Arena of Valor International Championship 2024 is set to showcase the game's best sides from the year as they look to become the next world champion. The prize money, broadcast talent, and format are yet to be announced, but fans are sure to arrive in droves to catch the action.
With the event happening in Vietnam, the discipline's biggest market, there's also a chance for viewership milestones to be achieved. This is especially true if the home teams, of which five will be in action, can make the latter stages and perhaps win the entire thing.
Detailed Esports data at your fingertips.
Subscribe to & start exploring!
