The International 2023 Qualifiers for Eastern Europe show a huge viewership decrease compared to last year

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Eastern Europe and South America have become the second set of regional leagues in the Dota Pro Circuit, where the domestic qualifiers for The International 2023 have concluded. South America showcased a viewership reach similar to that of the previous year. As for Eastern Europe, the number of viewers for the broadcasts has significantly decreased.

Eastern Europe Qualifier Viewership Statistics

In the Eastern Europe qualifiers, only one slot for the world championship was at stake. The strongest teams of the region had already secured their spots by the DPC points, which meant there were no clear favorites for victory in the qualifiers. In the end, Virtus.pro performed the best, defeating One Move in the finals with a score of 3:0. 

The regional qualifiers of The International 2023 in Eastern Europe accumulated 2.7 million Hours Watched. The Average Viewers during the broadcasts reached 49.1K viewers, while the Peak Viewers surged to 113.3K. The most popular series of the qualifying stage became the match between Natus Vincere and One Move. However, even the grand finals, in which the sole slot was contested, didn't make it into the top 3 in terms of viewership.

Looking at the dynamics, the current qualification in Eastern Europe has gathered far fewer viewers than anticipated. Compared to the year 2022, the Average Viewers for the broadcasts have decreased by 60%, and the Peak Viewers have dropped by over half, going from 266K to 113.3K viewers. The overall number of Hours Watched has correspondingly changed as well.

There are several reasons for such a sharp decline. Firstly, the qualifiers from the previous year featured more high-profile teams and intriguing matchups. Just consider the match between RAMZES666 and Solo (back then playing for Outsiders and NAVI). In the current season, however, team rosters have seen significant changes. The tags remained the same, but the rosters now include less well-known players, which naturally affects viewership. Another reason is community casting. Last year's qualifiers were covered across 70 unique channels, whereas this year's qualification matches were broadcast on only 55 channels.

South America Qualifier Viewership Statistics

The qualification for South America ran parallel with the matches in Eastern Europe; however, it featured the allocation of two slots for The International 2023. The spots for the world championship were secured by the Brazilian team Keyd Stars and the Peruvian team Thunder Awaken.

The matches in South America gathered fewer viewers compared to Eastern Europe, which is quite logical given the differing popularity of these regions in the professional Dota 2 scene. The matches in South America generated 1.3 million Hours Watched with 26.5K Average Viewers. The peak viewership was recorded during the match between Keyd Stars and Thunder Awaken in the second round of the upper bracket — at that time, 50.8K people were simultaneously following the clash between the two teams.

This year, the qualifiers in South America also garnered fewer peak viewers than in the previous year — this metric decreased by 40%. However, the Average Viewers and total Hours Watched metrics remained almost unchanged compared to the previous year.

The qualifiers for The International 2023 in Dota 2 are taking place from August 17 to August 31 in six regional leagues of the Dota Pro Circuit: China, Southeast Asia, North and South America, as well as Western and Eastern Europe. The top teams from each region will have the opportunity to compete at the world championship along with the teams that previously received a direct invite based on their DPC points. All regional qualifiers have the same format — a single-elimination bracket. Only teams from the first and second divisions of the DPC are participating.

The qualifiers for Southeast Asia and Western Europe will take place from August 27 to August 31. You can follow the progress of these tournaments on the coverage pages. 

Read also: B8 Esports helps the American qualifier for The International 2023 set a record for Peak Viewers