Europe topped Brazil in regional leagues viewership ahead of BLAST R6 Major Montreal 2024

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The participants for the BLAST R6 Major Montreal 2024, the premier tournament for Rainbow Six Siege in the second half of 2024, have finally been determined. The most engaged fans during the regional leagues and qualifiers came from Europe, North America, and Brazil: these regions recorded the highest viewership. However, compared to the spring season, the number of fans tuning in has seen a considerable decline.

The 2024 Stage 2 regional leagues were held in September and October across nine regions: Europe, North America, Latin America, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Oceania, Asia, and MENA. The top teams from the main leagues secured spots in the main stage of the BLAST R6 Major Montreal 2024, while less successful participants from smaller regions entered Phase 1 alongside the winners of the Last Chance Qualifier. In total, 20 teams will compete in the major tournament in Canada.

European League

The highlight of the European League was the disappointing performances of Fnatic and G2 Esports, both of which failed to secure direct spots for the major. Fnatic finished at the bottom of their group and didn’t even make it to the playoffs, while G2 Esports had a solid run in the group stage but unexpectedly lost to Virtus.pro in their first elimination match in the playoffs. However, G2 eventually qualified for the major through the Last Chance Qualifiers, which had fans on edge.

Europe League 2024 - Stage 2 boasted the highest audience reach among the regional leagues, averaging 16,500 viewers and peaking at 32,500. Compared to Stage 1, the numbers dropped by 21% and 10.2%, respectively. 

Brazil League

In the Brazilian League, favorites Team Liquid, FaZe Clan, and w7m Esports easily secured their spots after the regular season, but the Last Chance Qualifiers turned into a dramatic showdown. The final spot was unexpectedly claimed by Black Dragons, a team that finished at the bottom of their group without winning a single match all season. Notably, they managed to knock out E1 Sports and FURIA Esports, who represented the region at the last major in Manchester.

In terms of audience reach, the Brazilian League ranked second behind the European League, whereas it had been the clear leader in Stage 1 across all regions. Compared to the spring season, the average viewership dropped by nearly 39%, and peak viewership fell by almost half. The biggest audience losses occurred on the official rainbow6 and rainbow6br channels on Twitch, as well as the R6 Brazil channel on YouTube. Even RazaH, a popular community caster from Team Liquid, drew fewer viewers than usual.

North America League

In North America, there was a shift in leadership: Soniqs emerged as the top team in Stage 2, even though they didn’t secure a major spot during Stage 1, including the Last Chance Qualifiers. DarkZero Esports and Spacestation Gaming also performed consistently, while Cloud9 x Beastcoast, the Stage 1 champion, will be watching the major from the sidelines this time. The fourth spot from the region unexpectedly went to CL4L, a team that didn’t compete in the main league but qualified for the LCQ through open qualifiers.

Viewership statistics for the American League also declined: the average viewership dropped by 24%, and the peak fell by about 13.6%. The performance of channels took a hit as well, especially for rainbow6, rainbow6br, and RazaH on Twitch. However, the official Rainbow 6 channel on YouTube saw a slight increase compared to the spring season.

Other Leagues

The regional leagues for Stage 2 also took place in Japan, South Korea, Latin America, Asia, Oceania, and MENA. However, their viewership was significantly lower than in the top leagues. Still, the overall trend in these leagues is similar — viewership is gradually declining by 20-30%. The only exception is MENA, where peak online numbers saw a slight increase, but overall, this league doesn’t even make the top eight regions.

Last Chance Qualifiers

Teams from top regions that didn’t qualify for the major through the main stages of Stage 2 competed in the Last Chance Qualifier. The highest viewership came from the qualifiers in Brazil, Europe, and North America. Interestingly, the audience reach for the LCQ matches was nearly on par with that of the main stages. In some regions, peak viewership occurred during non-final matches — this was true for Europe, North America, and South Korea.

The most popular match across all stages of the Stage 2 LCQ was between Black Dragons and FURIA Esports in the Brazilian League, peaking at over 24,200 viewers. Notably, in Stage 1, the most popular LCQ match also took place in Brazil, drawing a peak of 46,500 viewers during the match between Team Liquid and Fluxo.

The BLAST R6 Major Montreal 2024 will be held from November 7 to 17 in Canada at the Verdun Auditorium, with a prize pool of $750,000. You can follow the results and viewership statistics for the event on the reporting page.

Participants of BLAST R6 Major Montreal 2024:

Phase 2:

Phase 1: