VCT Americas recorded the lowest Stage 1 groups viewership for the region

Loading

The VCT 2026: Americas Stage 1 recorded the lowest Group Stage viewership results for the Americas in Valorant Champions Tour esports history.

Overall watch time for the Americas Stage 1 fell by 21.2% compared to 2025’s Group Stage, and peak concurrent viewership followed a similar 19.3% decline. This result is not entirely surprising, as the Americas circuit viewership has been slipping year-on-year since its debut. 

Why is VCT Americas viewership declining?

The Americas circuit in Valorant has slowly seen viewership fall since its inaugural circuit in 2023. Various Valorant International Leagues are facing this problem around the globe, but the Americas suffers especially despite being the previous king of Valorant viewership — a throne it has since abdicated to the Pacific.

In previous years, the Americas relied heavily on the fan bases of Sentinels and LOUD to generate its viewership from North and South America, respectively. While both of these teams are still highly popular, their viewership has slipped over the years as their competitive results have disimproved. 

Pointing towards SEN’s slipping status as the face of North American Valorant, 2026 held the first-ever Stage 1 event where the most popular game of the Group Stage did not feature Sentinels. 

Which teams drove VCT Americas Stage 1 viewership?

The most popular game of the event instead featured Cloud9 and MIBR, which was a highly anticipated showdown between one of Americas’ longest competitive teams and its newest superstar roster. MIBR, built around legendary duelist Erick “aspas” Santos, suffered their first loss of the season against Cloud9, defeated in two 14-12 overtime maps.

Most metrics saw a decline compared to 2025’s opening stage, with the exclusion of YouTube Live Peak Viewers, which increased slightly (4.6%). Many multistreaming co-streamers, including top Portuguese and English-language co-streamers, Heitor “Tck10” Tomazela and Pujan “FNS” Mehta, respectively, saw boosts to their YouTube Live viewership compared to last year.

What were the most popular matches at VCT Americas Stage 1?

Other popular games of the Americas Stage 1 included the showdown between Cloud9 and LOUD, as well as the Brazilian derby between LOUD and MIBR. Brazilian teams remain crucial to the viewership of the Americas circuit, although this demographic has also waned with LOUD no longer competing for Masters titles and world championships.

With the Group Stage of the VCT 2026: Americas Stage 1 behind us, attention turns towards the playoffs, where MIBR AND KRÜ Esports wait in the upper bracket semifinals, the top seeds of their respective groups.

The first round of upper bracket matches will begin on May 14, featuring FURIA and Leviatán; the second game features G2 Esports and 100 Thieves. The loser of these games will face either NRG and LOUD in the lower bracket, the last two teams to qualify for playoffs. 

Both Sentinels and Cloud9 missing out on the VCT Americas playoffs is a particular shame, as these two teams were some of the most popular squads of the season by average concurrent viewers. Particularly when it comes to Masters London 2026, Sentinels taking part would have likely had a major impact on viewership.