Most popular esports events — November 2023

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November was a massive month for esports as many high-profile events took place, with a few spilling into December. However, there was one clear winner when it came to the most popular name of the lot, with the League of Legends' 2023 World Championship creating a record that might just stand the test of time.

Another noticeable trend was the number of mobile esports competitions making the top five table, with many famous disciplines seeing their world championships run across the last two months of 2023. Not shockingly, the most popular game of this lot was Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

A special mention must also go to Fortnite, whose OG season update has seen it become perhaps the most followed and watched title over the past two months. It also had multiple entries on the leaderboards listed below, which will be the icing on a large cake for Epic Games, who closed the nostalgic trip back to 2017 with a bang.

  A clear winner among the most popular esports competitions from November 2023   

The Worlds 2023 was again the most popular tournament with 6.4M Peak Viewers, achieved during the Grand Final between China's surprise package, Weibo Gaming, and South Korean powerhouse T1. The latter and its star player Faker dominated 3:0 to become the first four-time winners of perhaps the most prestigious esports competition there is today.

Next comes a mobile game that continues to amaze with its ability to remain relevant in such a competitive landscape the world over, especially in a stacked Asian market. The ongoing PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2023 hit 813K PV during Round 2 of the Last Chance Stage won by the famous Indonesian side Bigetron Red Villains. With the Grand Finals scheduled from December 8 to 10, the 16 qualified sides will be gearing up for a tough 18 matches as they look to become the latest world champions in their discipline.

Third is the Mad Cup, a popular Fortnite event conducted by Rubius that pits various prominent Spanish streamers against each other. This list of participants included many colleagues with whom the host had not shared the best of relationships recently. However, their love for the game and the quest to entertain audiences meant they put aside any differences for one day, which worked like a treat.

The ONE Esports MPL Invitational 2023 is fourth, having suffered from modest viewership due to the early elimination of Indonesian teams. In fact, it recorded the second-lowest peak viewership total in series history. Instead, it was teams from The Philippines — ECHO and RSG Philippines — who reached the Grand Final, with the latter securing a 3:1 win and pocketing $37K.

Last but not least is the Free Fire World Series 2023, the most prestigious competition in the discipline's calendar. It ended as the most popular Free Fire tournament of 2023 and the third-most watched one in the series. Brazilian side Magic Squad topped the Grand Finals points table by 17 points, including three Booyahs, to emerge as the world champion and take home $300K.

  Most popular esports tournaments among English-speaking viewers last month   

Apart from the LoL event at number one, there are four new entries on this top five leaderboard, which is rare. The second and third are from the same tournament, as the global qualifier and main event of the FC Pro 24 Open hit between 315K PV and 332K PV. The former had set a viewership record for virtual football, while the latter wasn't too shabby itself, all thanks to the system of in-game rewards for watching these matches.

The OTK Hardcore Mak'gora Tournament follows with 261K PV, with this $100K prize pool competition pitting various celebrity creators against each other. The streamer group partnered with Blizzard and Starforge to conduct games on the Official Hardcore Servers of WoW Classic Era, which was open to all players. Two huge names in the World of WarCraft community — Snutz (Warlock) and Ziqo (Mage) — battled it out in the grand final, with the former winning to take home $50K.

Fifth is the BLAST Premier Fall Final 2023, whose English viewership peaked at 252K people during the Grand Final between FaZe Clan and Vitality, which the latter clinched 2:0. The French side also ended its European counterparts' 18-game winning run that encompassed four straight summit clashes at one of the final S-tier Counter-Strike 2 tournaments of 2023.

When looking at the corresponding Japanese list, it is clear which games are held in high regard by the viewers there. A discipline like Valorant, pretty popular in the country, has multiple entries, with the inevitable appearance of one record tournament from 2023 that we have already touched upon.

One competition was all about pitting prominent VTubers against each other, and knowing how popular personalities in this genre are in Japan, that’s not really a surprise. There are also titles with niche audiences the world over, including an in-demand market in the Land of the Rising Sun.

  Most popular esports channels on Twitch last month   

Among Twitch channels, the official English channel of Riot Games ended as the most popular. In fact, three among these five names reached peak viewership highs thanks to streaming the record-shattering Lol Worlds 2023, with ibai and caedrel joining the official handle.

Third is the official account of EA Sports FC, which hit 290K PV at the FC Pro 24 Open during the meeting between Emre Yilmaz and Umut. The then leaders of Group A played out a thrilling 4:4 draw, and the two continued to top the pool with ten points each. The last entry is thegrefg, the most popular creator during the Mad Cup with 183PV, which was 16.4% higher than host and second-placed Rubius' tally.