Overwatch Champions Series 2025 Midseason Championship: Co-casters, platforms continue growth

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In one of the most surprising stories of the Esports World Cup 2025 so far, the Overwatch Champions Series Midseason saw a rare triumph by a team that came through the qualifiers. Team Falcons' miracle run to the title not only defied expectations but also helped make this the most-watched Overwatch event of the year.

The Overwatch Champions Series 2025 Midseason brought together 15 of the world's best sides to compete for a prize pool of $1 million. They were joined by Team Falcons, who won the OCS 2025 MSC - Last Chance Qualifier after three days of action to clinch the final slot at this prestigious competition.

  Team Falcons' magic run ensured the org's first championship win at the EWC 2025 (Image via EWC)   

The main event was held across four days and ended with Team Falcons doing the unthinkable and taking home the trophy, alongside $400,000 in winnings. The Saudi Arabian side also earned the Jafonso Award, handed to sides that come up through the Last Chance Qualifier and win the entire tournament.

Team Falcons, carrying form and momentum after going through the qualifiers unbeaten, maintained a high level throughout. It reached the Grand Final without losing before completing the fairytale journey by thumping fellow Saudi Arabian esports organization Al Qadsiah 4:0 in front of a rabid home crowd to emerge victorious.

Viewership statistics from the Overwatch Champions Series 2025 Midseason

  Overwatch Champions Series 2025 Midseason's basic viewership stats and most popular matches   

The final match was only the second most popular clash at this EWC 2025 event, hitting 168,941 Peak Viewers (PV). The top game by this metric was Team Falcons' Playoffs Semifinals against Korean league rival T1, which reached just over 177,000 peak live viewers.

Overwatch Champions Series 2025 Midseason ended as the most popular competition in the game this year. It also bettered the PV figures put up last year, when the game's most followed side, Crazy Raccoon, came out on top, by almost 77%.

Most-watched and most popular Overwatch events held so far in 2025

The event ended among the five most consistently watched competitions in the multiplayer shooter's history, with just six events in total crossing the 100,000 Average Viewers mark.

When comparing the two Overwatch editions of the EWC, one thing in common is the role of community casters. Streamers from different languages, including its stronghold of Japanese, have shown high interest in the matches, even helping regional audiences connect better.

What helped the 2025 iteration do better viewership numbers was the increase in the number of channels, which more than tripled. This was a byproduct of creators from CHZZK, one of the top livestreaming services in Japan and Korea, broadcasting the action. In fact, the Naver-backed service finished second on the OCS 2025 MSC's top platforms list by watch time and peak live viewers.

  Viewership comparison of the two Overwatch competitions at the Esports World Cup   

A few languages also exploded this year to help the second edition of the series do much higher numbers. Top languages like English, Korean, Arabic, and Japanese enjoyed growth, with Arabic seeing a 153% rise in its peak viewership, thanks to Saudi Arabia-based esports organizations sweeping the podium places.

Korean audiences also played their part as they cheered on Crazy Raccoon and T1, who both ended in the top five. As a result, the language's PV jumped by an incredible 610% from 2024, which can also be connected to CHZZK's entry into the game's livestreaming scene.

Overall, the sterling performances of the home sides and the increase in interest among audiences from top regions played a major role in making the Overwatch MSC 2025 such a success. The game might not boast the same viewership numbers as it did a few years back, but it continues to enthrall its loyal fan bases with amazing action and top-tier events.

The Overwatch event victory was Team Falcons' first championship win at the Esports World Cup 2025. Crucially, the 1,000 points the esports organization earned here helped it jump to the top of the Club Championship leaderboard with 3,500 points, putting it just 300 points over the second-placed Team Liquid.

EWC 2025 Club Championship rankings on August 7

VK Gaming, AG.AL International and Yangon Galacticos are some shock names to have put up points on this coveted table, thanks to unlikely wins in different games. Readers must note that a total of $27 million has been put up for sharing among the top 24 sides on these rankings, with the winner taking home a massive $7 million.

This is after a few changes to the system for the 2025 edition, including tweaks to the points awarded and a prize pool increase of $7 million compared to last year. Readers interested in delving deeper into these modifications and how these changes could affect their favorite teams can check out our article here.