BLAST R6 Major Salt Lake City 2026: Group Stage average viewership up 104% compared to Munich

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The first Major of the new Rainbow Six esports season is showing strong growth compared to last year’s event in Munich, according to data from Esports Charts.

All key viewership metrics for the BLAST R6 Major Salt Lake City 2026 Group Stage increased by between 87% and 140% year over year.

At the ongoing BLAST R6 Major Salt Lake City 2026 in the United States, the top eight teams have now been decided and will compete in the Playoffs on May 15-17 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The main storyline heading into the final stage is whether FaZe Clan can build on their February championship success and secure another major title this season.

Looking for deeper viewership insights? Access full tournament statistics through the Esports Charts Event Dashboard. Choose any event, select a plan that fits your needs, and unlock advanced analytics across languages, platforms, teams and individual channels!

The first Major of the 2026 season introduces a new competitive format. The number of participating teams has been expanded to 20, with a Play-In stage now preceding the Group Stage. In addition, the Playoffs are now played in a single-elimination format, increasing the stakes of every match, as there is no margin for error.

In terms of viewership, six Group Stage matches peaked at over 100,000 concurrent viewers. The most-watched match featured G2 Esports against Virtus.pro, drawing nearly 150,000 peak concurrent viewers as Karl “Alem4o” Zarth’s roster secured its place in the Playoffs.

Overall match data clearly indicates a significant increase in audience engagement compared to the previous event in the series, which took place in Munich last November. The current highest-viewed match of the tournament has already surpassed the previous event’s top match by 36.3% in peak viewership, with the Playoffs yet to begin.

A detailed comparison of the Munich and Salt Lake City Group Stages shows a significant surge in audience interest. Watch time was 87% higher than last year’s event, while all other key metrics grew even more strongly.

The most striking figure is the 140% increase in Peak Viewers, but the most reliable indicator of audience growth is Average Viewers. This metric better reflects overall engagement across the entire Group Stage, as it is not influenced by differences in match duration. On that measure, viewership more than doubled year over year.

Several factors contributed to this growth. First, coverage was significantly expanded through additional channels and high-profile co-streamers. Nicholas “Jynxzi” Stewart alone averaged around 38,000 live viewers during his coverage of the event, with his peak co-stream reaching 50,986 viewers.

Beyond co-streaming, the official broadcast channels also recorded higher performance. A major driver here is the evolution of viewer incentives. In 2026, Ubisoft extended the engagement window required to unlock the most valuable exclusive in-game items from 11 to 13 hours during the Swiss Stage. This change encourages longer watch time, and audience behavior reflects that shift.

At the same time, the reward ecosystem itself has been expanded, introducing a broader and more varied pool of cosmetics, including newer item types. This additional variety has increased player interest in drops, further supporting sustained viewership throughout the tournament.

So far, the tournament is delivering outstanding audience growth, even when compared against the full dataset of last year’s Major, not just the Group Stage. With the Playoffs still ahead, the gap in viewership versus the previous Major is expected to widen even further.

As the event progresses, Esports Charts will continue tracking its viewership performance and audience trends. A full breakdown and final conclusions will be provided once the tournament concludes.