BLAST Slam VI sets series viewership records as Team Liquid clinches crown
During the weekend, the BLAST Slam VI, the sixth iteration of the SLAM Dota 2 tournament series, came to an end. A change in the Playoffs matches, alongside deep runs for the top teams, ensured that the event pulled in record-breaking viewership numbers for the series.
The latest tournament in the relatively new BLAST Slam series was held at the BLAST Studios in Malta. It featured 12 of the world's top Dota 2 sides battling for a whopping $1 million prize pool, where the winner took home $300,000.
There was also a statistical quirk as Tundra Esports, who had reached all the previous five finals, finally saw that run come to an end. In fact, the European roster had won the previous four iterations, but it was beaten by HEROIC in the Play-In match to finish in the 7th to 10th bracket.
BLAST Slam VI viewership statistics
The BLAST Slam VI reached 324,789 Peak Viewers (PV) during the Playoffs, Semifinals between OG and Team Liquid. This shattered the previous series record for concurrent viewers set at the BLAST Slam III and continued the audience reach of this series, which marked BLAST's entrance to the Dota 2 scene.
Team Liquid was generally followed by more viewers than the other sides, appearing in all three of the tournament's most popular matches. It was also, by far, the most popular side by Average Viewers (AV), handily beating other top sides like Natus Vincere and Team Falcons.
Most popular and watched BLAST Slam competitions
The BLAST Slam VI also touched an unprecedented 12.4 million Hours Watched (HW), helped by all matches in the Playoffs being played in the Bo5 format for the first time. In the process, it almost doubled the previous record holder and became the series' first iteration to cross the 10 million watch hours mark.
English and Russian-speaking viewers continued to do the bulk of the work when it came to this Dota 2 competition's record audience reach. Both crossed the 100,000 PV mark at the same BLAST Slam event for the first time.
Russian audiences were especially keen on following the coverage of former pros turned community casters Aleksandr "Nix" Levin and Alexey "Solo" Berezin. Nix's livestreams, especially, consistently attracted higher viewers than any other channel, including official ones, helping him finish as the top channel by watch time and peak live viewers.
Another reason for the sixth edition's milestone viewership numbers, which also reinforced its growing standing in the annual Dota 2 esports calendar, was the increase in the number of channels broadcasting the matches. This time, a total of 193 channels live-streamed the action, more than any other event in the series.
Kick was one of the big movers, seeing a lot more Dota 2 co-streamers broadcast these games. Moreover, SOOP Korea entered the fray for the first time, and while the Korean platform's livestreaming numbers were negligible, it points to a gradual global reach of this series.
Overall, it was a great return to action for the BLAST Slam, with viewership continuing to grow and reaching record numbers. It's still early in the season, but the interest generated also showed why Dota 2 continues to be such a unique and beloved esport, with a global audience continuing to tune into its top competitions in the thousands.
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