DPC 2023 Division II matches have 46% fewer Hours Watched than in 2022

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Last week marked the end of the final matches of Division II of the Dota Pro Circuit 2023 season. The Dota 2 Tier-2 scene has been facing significant difficulties, and this year's statistics look even more discouraging. All regions in Division II have experienced a decline in total Hours Watched compared to last year. In some leagues, the drop has reached a staggering -70% mark.

DPC 2023 Division II Overall Results 

In total, all matches of the Dota Pro Circuit's Division II in 2023 accumulated 10.6 million Hours Watched, which is a 46% decrease compared to 2022. However, if we consider each region separately, Western Europe maintains its leadership position, with its second division matches amassing 4.5 million Hours Watched across three tours (-22.5% compared to last year).

It is worth noting that Western Europe lost a significant portion of Hours Watched in Division II, despite hosting many popular teams in 2023. Among them were Team Secret, Alliance, Old G, Nigma Galaxy, and others.

  DPC 2023 Division II Watch Time by Region   

Eastern Europe showed the biggest decrease in audience reach — its second division in 2023 accumulated only 1.15 million Hours Watched, which is nearly a 70% decrease compared to the region's numbers in 2022. This is surprising considering that in the previous year, the Eastern European league was played in a shortened format due to the war in Ukraine, where participants in the second round played a non-standard double-elimination stage instead of the standard group stage. The change of tournament operator and main studio, scandals involving fixed matches, a weaker lineup of participants, the departure of teams and individual players to other regions heavily affected the statistics. Not even the fact that two squads from Natus Vincere, one of the most prominent esports clubs, played in the second division could salvage the situation.

Speaking of other regions, the Hours Watched for the second divisions of Southeast Asia and North America decreased by more than a half, with drops of 57% and 55% respectively. Compared to last year, China lost approximately 44.6% of its numbers. However, it is important to note that the primary audience for the Chinese league watches the streams on local streaming platforms, while this article only includes Twitch and YouTube data.

In 2023, all regional leagues in Division II experienced a significant decline compared to the previous year. However, in terms of percentage, the South American league did not lose as much as the others, with only about a 17% decrease. In 2022, South America was considered the least popular league among viewers, but in 2023, this title was transferred to its northern neighbor. The situation was likely influenced by the Lima Major 2023, the first major tournament held in South America, which took place in Peru in February/March.

It is worth mentioning the sharp decline in Peak Viewers in Division II. In 2022, the league with the highest peak viewership was the DPC WEU 2021/2022 Tour 3 Division II. The match between Into The Breach and Nigma Galaxy was watched by over 144.3K Peak Viewers. In 2023, the best peak viewership was once again achieved by the Western European league. The most popular match of the DPC WEU 2023 Tour 2: Division II gathered just over 96K PV. This means that across all tours, peak viewership in Division II decreased by 33%.

Most Popular Division II Leagues

  DPC 2023 Division II Popularity by Tour   

The most-watched league among DPC 2023 Divisions II is the second tour in Western Europe. In total, the matches of DPC WEU 2023 Tour 2: Division II accumulated 1.6 million HW. Viewers were most actively following the performances of Old G, Team Secret, and Alliance.

All three Western European leagues made it to the Top 5 most popular leagues in Division II in 2023. It is noteworthy that only they were able to accumulate over a million Hours Watched. They were joined by two leagues from Southeast Asia. Interestingly, the difference between the leader and the league in fifth place is nearly threefold.

DPC WEU 2023 Tour 2: Division II also leads by peak viewership among all leagues and regions in 2023. One of its matches was watched by over 96K Peak Viewers. The second-highest record belongs to DPC WEU 2023 Tour 3: Division II, with 63.7K PV. It is worth noting that only the leagues from Western Europe and Southeast Asia made it to The top 5 in terms of Peak Viewers.

Most Popular DPC 2023 Division II Teams & Matches

Only two teams from Division II were able to surpass the mark of one million Hours Watched in the DPC 2023 season. Interestingly, only representatives from Western Europe made it to the Top 5 in this category.

It is intriguing that the top-ranked teams include two squads that competed in Division II for only two out of three tours. Nonetheless, that was enough for them to make it into the Top 5. Another pattern is that Division II often features teams from Division I who were relegated to the second league based on their season's results. There are also many interesting mixes of well-known players in Division II, including former champions of The International.

  Most Popular DPC 2023 Division II Matches   

If we look at the Top 5 matches in Division II, we can see three games involving Old G, and the leader is the match between Alliance and Team Secret. All five of the most popular matches were played in the second and third tours of Western Europe.

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Western Europe is the strongest and most popular region in the professional Dota 2 scene, both in Division I and Division II. At the same time, the Eastern European region holds a high position in Division I but is rapidly losing ground in Division II. This is due to a combination of reasons, with the trigger being the war in Ukraine.

When it comes to viewers' interest, it is often the star-studded player mixes or international teams that attract the largest audience in Division II. Interestingly, these teams do not necessarily have to showcase high results. In Division II, viewers prefer to watch the media-centric teams that demonstrate beautiful gameplay or unconventional tactics.

Right now, Indonesia is hosting The Bali Major 2023, the last major in the DPC 2023 season. You can follow the tournament's viewership statistics on this page.