Call of Duty League 2023: Stage 1 Major recap — great viewership numbers in its return to Twitch

The Call of Duty League 2023: Stage 1 Major, which was held in Raleigh, came to an end on the 18th of December. It was the first offline tournament of the new Call of Duty League season, and it also marked the league's return to Twitch. Sixteen teams battled each other for a piece of the $500K prize pool, and to secure the most CDL points possible.

After plenty of games, the New York Subliners were crowned the Call of Duty League 2023: Stage 1 Major champions. Worth noting that, the squad was knocked out to the lower bracket in the playoffs. But, with some great performances, it managed to reach the Grand Final, where it defeated the favorites Seattle Surge by 4-1, avenging their early loss in the event.

Viewership Stats

As mentioned above, the qualifiers of this event marked the return of the CDL to Twitch. It was something Call of Duty fans had been asking for quite some time, and this year, their prayers were finally answered. Fans proved that the league's decision to return to Twitch was the correct one, as thousands tuned into the matches regularly. It reached a wide audience, with the PV increasing by only 1.2%, but the AV growing by an astonishing 60.5%, compared to last year's Stage 1 Major.

Call of Duty League 2023: Stage 1 Major became the fifth most popular event of the series, and the second most watched. This proves that the league appeals to much more viewers now that it's on Twitch, than when it was exclusively broadcasted on YouTube. It's also a great sign for the future of the league. Since this is the first offline league event broadcasted on Twitch in two years, and already great viewership results were reached, we expect the audience of the CDL to continue to grow.

Despite being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the Florida Mutineers were in the two most popular games of the event. That happened because, in both of them, their opponent was OpTic Texas, one of the most popular teams in the CDL, which didn't even make the playoffs in this event.

The New York Subliners are present in the remaining three games of the top 5. The grand final was only the fourth most popular match, with 151K Peak Viewers. When it comes to the most popular squad in the whole event, that trophy also goes to the New York Subliners, which were the only team to surpass the 1 million Hours Watch mark.

Viewership comparison of the 5 most popular and most watched events in CDL history

As mentioned above, the Call of Duty League 2023: Stage 1 Major entered the list of the most popular events in CDL history. It became the fifth most popular with 159K PV. However, it is still far from the 331K PV that was reached in the Call of Duty League 2020 Finals. Curiously, the qualifiers of the competition were more popular than its main event, as they reached 184K PV.

When it comes to the most watched events, it sits in second place, with 3.4 million Hours Watched, more than what the 2022 CDL playoffs and the 2020 CDL finals achieved. However, it's once again behind the Call of Duty League 2023: Stage 1 Major Qualifiers, which reached 4.5 million Hours Watched. This is somewhat normal, since the qualifiers were the official return of the CDL to Twitch, so it captivated the interest of thousands of viewers.

CDL fans and executives should be happy after the league return to Twitch went so well. If this trend continues, we will see the CDL continue to grow, and even break some viewership records in the near future. It has already proven it can reach a wide audience, despite being the first tournament of the year. Once we get to the most important phase of the league, it will be interesting to see its viewership numbers.