The International 2026 Qualifiers averaged over 21% more live viewers than last year
Qualifiers for The International 2026 have concluded, meaning the 16 teams set to do battle for one of the most coveted esports crowns have been decided. The viewership also witnessed gains, as the cumulative watch time of these events went up by over 8% compared to 2025, according to Esports Charts.
Europe helped The International 2026 qualifiers outshine 2025 numbers
This year's qualifiers for the biggest tournament on the annual Dota 2 esports calendar accrued a total of 11.2 million Hours Watched, according to Esports Charts. Compared to the 2025 qualifiers, this was a rise of 8.4%, even though there was one less event in 2026 after the merger of the two European regions.
More crucially, the average viewership across the five regions in 2026 shot up by 21.38%, suggesting more consistent engagement across these competitions. The total number of unique broadcasting channels barely had any changes (371 in 2025 to 377 this year), but the impact of the combined European region had a big say.
The Europe Regional Qualifier remained the most important one for Dota 2 esports, contributing over 57% to the overall watch time of these tournaments. This was similar to the contributions of the two European qualifiers during last year's The International cycle, where the Eastern and Western regions contributed 52.17% to the cumulative HW number.
While the watch time difference was minimal, the merger of the Western and Eastern Europe blocks into one consolidated region this year positively impacted the peak concurrent viewership numbers. Fans were treated to a lot more high-profile matchups than they are used to seeing at the regional level, as prominent teams like Team Spirit, Nigma Galaxy and Natus Vincere battled each other.
As a result, the European region ended as the most popular The International qualifier since 2022. The Upper Bracket Round 3 battle between Team Spirit and Nigma Galaxy reached 216,692 Peak Viewers, just short of The International 10 Eastern Europe Qualifier's 222,432 PV.
Moreover, the 2026 Europe Regional Qualifier's 6.45 million HW was among the six most-watched regional qualifiers for The International, with the European regions dominating this table.
The North America Regional Qualifier continued to be the least performing one in Dota 2. The league averaged a paltry 5,746 viewers, down over 6000 viewers from the 2025 edition. What happens once the season finale starts is anyone's guess, but the region's future remains up in the air as it continues to slide downward across nearly all viewership metrics year after year.
Southeast Asia, South America and China have maintained fairly consistent numbers over the last two years, with changes in metrics mostly falling within 10%. SEA was the only one to see an increase in peak viewership, while China's watch time numbers went up as the number of global broadcasting channels covering the action continued to shoot up, this time almost doubling in number from 2025.
Chinese esports going global, regional favorites remain elsewhere
Platform dynamics also remained varied, with viewer choice depending on which Dota 2 region was in focus. Twitch was the number one choice by a massive distance in Europe and North America, while YouTube was the most preferred option for Southeast Asian audiences.
South America was a clear example of the rising force that is Kick, with barely anything separating the two platforms. Over the past two years, Kick has emerged as a growing destination for esports content across tiers, and South America is the best representation of this growing influence.
Need more than the headline numbers? Access detailed audience analytics, viewership trends, broadcast performance, and historical comparisons to support sponsorship, marketing, and event strategy decisions with Esports Charts.
China's case is similar to Europe and North America, as Twitch has emerged as the top choice. The growing interest among global audiences to get more glimpses of the country's esports landscape, combined with local efforts to make the region more visible internationally, has seen Chinese livestreaming numbers grow across esports titles over the last few years.
However, we must note that the Central Asian nation's domestic platforms still dominate the esports live broadcasting landscape. Names like Huya, Bilibili and DouYu remain the major destinations where most local and regional audiences still catch the games.
Overall, Europe's merger as one qualifying entity played a big part in helping the 2026 qualifiers for The International 2026 notch much better livestreaming numbers than last year. Moreover, stability was the name of the game in Southeast Asia, South America and China, while North America's woes increased as it continued to leak viewers.
Participating teams at The International 2026
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The immediate focus for Dota 2 teams and fans now shifts to the Esports World Cup 2026, to be held in Paris from July 6 to 18. It will give teams a gauge of where they stand ahead of the game's coveted world championship, which is scheduled for August 13 to 23 in Shanghai.
The International 2026 will carry a prize pool of $1.6 million, with the Playoffs emanating live from the Oriental Sports Center, which can seat 18,000 fans in the indoor arena. Fans and readers can stay up to date with results and viewership stats on Esports Charts’ dedicated report page.
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Mentioned events
For complete tournament statistics, visit the dedicated event pages on Esports Charts
