Fnatic vs. Team Heretics was more popular than VCT EMEA Stage 1 grand finals

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Following a record-low Group Stage viewership result, the VCT 2026: EMEA Stage 1 saw overall watch time for the International League fall by almost 23%, according to Esports Charts. Playoffs of the EMEA managed a better result than the groups, although viewership did not peak for its final matches. 

During the Group Stage Stage 1, EMEA suffered viewership drops among its top audiences: English, French, and Spanish viewership all saw a decline in interest. This trend continued into the Playoffs, although Fnatic and Team Heretic managed to push the league to some stronger peak viewership results. 

VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 1 viewership results

Fnatic and Team Heretics boast some of the largest Valorant esports audiences in EMEA, and their Playoffs showdown became the most popular game for EMEA Stage 1 with over 274,000 Peak Viewers. The teams met in the lower bracket quarterfinals, with only one of them facing a shot at the Playoffs. Fnatic opened up the series with a win, but TH clapped back with a 13:2 victory, followed by a nail-biting 15:13 result in favour of Team Heretics.

Team Heretics continued through the lower bracket, defeating Eternal Fire and FUT Esports before they made their way to the grand final to face Team Vitality. Vitality came into 2026 with a fresh roster, and despite an underwhelming Group Stage showing, they qualified for the Playoffs, where they remained undefeated in the upper bracket en route to the finals.

  Most popular games of the VCT 2026: EMEA Stage 1   
Ultimately, on the final map of the best-of-five series, Team Heretics managed to edge out a 15:13 overtime victory to claim their first-ever EMEA title. While a popular game in comparison to the rest of Stage 1, the grand finals received only 223,254 Peak Viewers, over 50,000 concurrent viewers fewer than Heretics’ earlier win over Fnatic. 

Most popular co-streamers of the VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 1

Behind Valorant’s co-streaming scene, French streamer Lucas “Squeezie” Hauchard was once again the top performer for the league. However, viewership fell significantly for Squeezie compared to last year, as it did for many of EMEA’s other top streamers.

Coinciding with Karmine Corp’s 0:5 result in the Group Stage, co-streamer and co-owner Kamel “Kamet0” Kebir suffered a significant drop in peak viewership for his VCT co-streaming. 

In our comparison of the VCT International Leagues for Stage 1, Esports Charts noted a viewership drop of over 50% for Spain’s Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas. However, mixwell’s viewership swelled to support Team Heretics for the Playoffs, helping to boost his result slightly and put him among the EMEA’s top broadcasting channels for Stage 1. His dedication and consistency to co-streaming the VCT EMEA put him far ahead of other top co-streamers, such as Pujan “FNS” Mehta, who only tuned in for a few Playoffs games.

The poorer results of these French co-streamers has had a major impact on the French Peak for the EMEA circuit. However, average concurrent viewership fell only slightly for French audiences; while not able to replicate last year’s waves of viewership, the audience stayed relatively stable compared to other major demographics, such as Spanish or English-speaking viewers. 

Overall, it appears interest is falling for the Valorant EMEA circuit. This is not limited to official broadcasting channels, but also the co-streamers behind the scenes. Interestingly, while teams like Gentle Mates and Karmine Corp have driven sizeable viewership for EMEA over the past years, Team Heretics against Fnatic remains the undisputed favourite match of EMEA fans: over the past three years, this match-up has consistently been the most popular game of Stage 1.

How did VCT 2026: EMEA Stage 1 viewership compare to past results and other leagues?

Against the backdrop of EMEA’s favourite teams, the circuit’s slipping influence is even clearer. While Team Heretics and Fnatic continue to host exciting showdowns year after year, attention has waned for the circuit.

In comparison to Valorant’s top VCT International League by peak concurrent viewership, the Pacific at this time, the EMEA circuit lags massively behind. At the same time as EMEA’s record lows, the VCT Pacific broke records, setting a new series Peak Viewers record, as well as an overall Valorant esports record for Thai-language viewership.

Directly comparing the Pacific and EMEA circuits, EMEA earned a peak concurrent viewership almost 49% lower than that of the record-breaking Pacific result. While the EMEA circuit saw significant drops in viewership among a previously major audience, French viewers, the Pacific also experienced marked decline among Korean viewers. However, the Pacific circuit was able to offset this with a diverse, growing scene. 

While both the EMEA and Pacific faced a declining major audience, the Pacific was able to rely on other demographics. Offsetting the Korean viewers’ decline, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai viewers grew in size for the 2026 Stage 1 Playofffs, allowing the circuit to reach a new series record. While the Pacific was able to rely on its other audiences, as well as a growing interest from international, English-speaking viewers, the EMEA circuit was not so lucky.

The significant drop in French Peak for the VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 1 was also highlighted by significant drops among English and Spanish-speaking viewers. No other local audiences grew for the EMEA circuit amid its record lows; in fact, Japanese, Vietnamese, and even more Asian languages viewers appeared in the EMEA’s top 10 audiences by total watch time for Stage 1. 

Stage 1 of 2026 was a record low for the EMEA circuit, suffering drops in viewership among all of its major audiences. For the future, something has to change in the VCT EMEA to begin exciting viewers again, growing audiences, and laying the foundation for wider contribution to Valorant’s international viewership at Masters and Champions.