Which broadcast languages can set new records during The International 2023?

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The International 2023 is in full swing — just a few days ago, the Group Stage of the main Dota 2 tournament of the year ended, and the first Playoffs matches will begin on October 20. The intermediate viewership results of the tournament showed a slight increase in peak viewership compared to last year. However, the Average Viewers number and the total watch time have significantly declined. These numbers do not currently give reasons to expect that the current tournament will surpass The International 10 and become the most popular in the history of the discipline. Nevertheless, the current World Championship may still break some records in terms of language broadcasts, if the tournament situation contributes to it.

As we mentioned earlier, The International 10 with 107 million Hours Watched and 2.7 million Peak Viewers currently holds the title of the most popular tournament in the series. It will be quite challenging to surpass this overall achievement, but the series can still establish individual language records. For example, in the last two years records have been updated in Spanish, Ukrainian, and Indonesian.

Language records in Dota 2

The current record for Spanish Dota 2 viewership is 134K Peak Viewers, which was recorded during The Lima Major 2023. At the current World Championship in Seattle, the Spanish-language broadcasts have reached 61.4K Peak Viewers, but this number could easily be increased. Firstly, the tournament is taking place in a convenient time zone for Latin and South America. Secondly, The International 2023 has a record number of players from Peru, with 15 individuals participating before the Group Stage (only Russia has more players). The Peruvian team Evil Geniuses, as well as TSM with the popular Peruvian carry player Timado, are still in the Playoffs. If either EG or TSM progresses well in the tournament, one can certainly expect a new record for Spanish-language Dota 2 broadcasts.

A similar situation can be observed with the Ukrainian-language broadcast. The current record for this language was set during The International 2022 and stands at 46.1K PV. Only two Ukrainian players remain in the tournament (out of four at the start of TI), and both of them are playing for Team Spirit. This team has shown exceptional performance in the Group Stage and is considered one of the main contenders for the title. Overall, compared to the primary language broadcasts in the discipline, the Ukrainian language record doesn't seem unbreakable. It is quite possible that the Maincast studio will be able to surpass it once again, as they did last year.

As for the Indonesian broadcast, although this language is on the list of those that saw record-breaking viewership after The International 10, the chances of surpassing that record in Seattle are extremely slim. We should remind you that the current record for Indonesian language in Dota 2 was set during the IESF World Championship 2022 and amounted to 50.7K PV. That tournament took place in Indonesia, and the Indonesian team emerged victorious over the Philippine team, winning the championship title. This combination of circumstances influenced the growth in popularity of the Indonesian broadcast. However, no similar coincidences are expected at The International 2023 — two players from Indonesia are participating in the tournament, but the tournament's time zone is very inconvenient for viewers from Southeast Asia. This is one of the main factors that may hinder the setting of a new record for the Indonesian broadcast.

In addition to the three languages mentioned above, it is important to mention the Russian-language streams. Russian is the primary language in the Dota 2 discipline and often surpasses even English broadcasts in terms of audience reach. Thanks to the active Russian-speaking viewers, The International 10 was able to gather over 2.7 million Peak Viewers in total. Of course, this was made possible by the successful performance of Team Spirit, the champion of that tournament.

The International 2023 may see a situation similar to 2021, as Russian teams have very good chances in the current tournament. Firstly, this World Championship has a record number of players from Russia, with 19 individuals participating. Secondly, three Russian teams — Team Spirit, 9Pandas, and Virtus.pro — will start the Playoffs in the upper bracket.

Current Russian language record is 1.23 million PV — this number was reached during The International 10. The number looks fantastic and unattainable at first glance, but let's compare the individual numbers at the end of the Group Stage. For example, during the Group Stage of The International 2023, the Peak Viewers number on the Russian-language broadcast amounted to 384.6K — this is the second-highest result among all the tournaments of the series. There were more viewers only during the Group Stage of The International 10: back then the Russian-language broadcast had slightly more than 404K PV.

The difference between 384.6k and 404k isn't that big, but there are other factors to consider. On the one hand, in 2021, the tournament was held in Bucharest, where the time zone was much more convenient for viewers from Eastern Europe. On the other hand, the current tournament in Seattle features many more Russian teams and players. All in all, the chances for a new record are small, but still possible. A lot will depend on the results of the Russian teams and the matchups they will play.

The International 2023 takes place from October 12 to October 29 in Seattle, USA. You can follow the results and viewership statistics of the event on the coverage page.

Read also: 

• Millions of dollars and viewers — records of The International series

• The richest players of The International 2023

• The International 2023 Group Stage attracts more concurrent viewers than last year