Official broadcasts of ESL One Berlin Major 2023 draw more viewers than at The Lima Major 2023

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ESL One Berlin Major 2023, the second major Dota 2 tournament of the current season, ended on May 7. The event has surpassed The Lima Major 2023 by Peak Viewers, but fell behind by average viewership — read more about the event in our recap.

The Western European teams were once again the dominant force in ESL One Berlin Major 2023. In addition to making it to the upper bracket of the playoffs after the Group Stage, all four teams from that region reached the Top 6 at the end of the tournament. They were joined by 9Pandas from Eastern Europe and Evil Geniuses from South America.

Gaimin Gladiators /photo: twitter.com/GaiminGladiator

In the Grand Final, Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid faced off again. It wasn't a hard-fought game, as Gaimin Gladiators defeated its opponent 3-1 and won its second major in a row this season. In the playoffs, GG played four best-of-3 series, losing only one map to its opponents. Now the team has simply no competition in their region and the world stage in general.

ESL One Berlin Major 2023 Viewership Statistics 

ESL One Berlin Major 2023 matches accumulated 28.3 million Hours Watched, and the Average Viewers number of the tournament was 235.2K. The Grand Final between Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid became the most popular match as expected, attracting over 507K Peak Viewers.

Team Liquid became the most popular team of the tournament based on two metrics at once — total Hours Watched and Average Viewers. Team Liquid amassed more Hours Watched than any other team in the lower bracket, where it played more matches than any other team. Team Liquid outpaced its closest competitor by 13% in terms of Average Viewers. 

Comparison with The Lima Major 2023

ESL One Berlin 2023 was a highly anticipated event for all Dota 2 fans in Western Europe. The region's spectators always actively follow international tournaments, and this season they especially enjoy cheering for teams from their region as they show nice matches and good results. However, despite high expectations, the number of viewers at ESL One Berlin 2023 matches did not differ much from that of The Lima Major 2023. 

The German tournament performed slightly better in terms of Peak Viewers, outperforming The Lima Major 2023 by about 3%. At the same time, the German major lagged behind the Peruvian one by about 10% by Average Viewers. Overall, both tournaments showed very similar viewership in terms of key metrics, and the differences between them cannot be considered critical. 

The almost identical numbers show the stability of the professional Dota 2 scene and the great loyalty of the audience, which is willing to follow the tournaments no matter what country or time zone the matches are held in. On the other hand, compared to last year, the numbers dropped slightly. ESL One Stockholm Major 2022 and PGL Arlington Major 2022 drew more Peak Viewers than this year's majors.

The 2022 Majors drew more viewers than the 2023 Majors

ESL One Berlin Major 2023 and The Lima Major 2023 not only have an identical format, but they also had the same finalists, and the winner — Gaimin Gladiators defeated Team Liquid in both events. 

One of the main differences between the events was the ratio of official and community casting. The Lima Major 2023 saw a 44.7% share of the total Hours Watched, while ESL One Berlin Major 2023 saw a 59.3 % share. Independent streamers saw a significant drop in metrics. For example, the total Hours Watched number on the Nix channel, the most popular community streamer at both tournaments, dropped by almost 40%. Swedish community caster Gorgc lost more than 60% of the Hours Watched he accumulated at the Peruvian tournament.

During ESL One Berlin Major 2023, viewers watched official broadcasts more and paid less attention to community casters. This was partly due to the new rules for community casting: there were limitations for independent streamers to broadcast from studios with guests and professional production.

Berlin Major and Lima Major — channels & languages comparison

The popularity of languages has also changed. At ESL One Berlin Major 2023, the share of English increased from 27% to 41% compared to the Lima tournament. This was due to the change of the main English-language studio (ESL is a much more popular and recognizable company than Epulze) as well as more convenient time zones for European viewers. 

The share of Russian decreased from 45.6% to 39.3%, and the share of Spanish decreased from 15.4% to 7.5%. This was partially due to the new rules for the community casters (they are the ones who contribute the most to the Russian broadcasts). In addition, in Lima, Spanish showed an excessive share because the local viewers were interested in the home tournament and followed the Peruvian teams' play.

From May 15 to June 4, the third stage (summer) of the six regional DPC leagues takes place. This stage will determine the teams that will play in The Bali Major 2023. The last major of the season takes place from June 29 to July 9 in Indonesia. The participants will compete for $500K and 3.5K DPC points. The final matches are hosted by the Ayana Estate.