How does the viewer interest in LoL, Dota 2 and CS:GO change based on the time of day?

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One can find an interesting Twitch broadcast all around the clock. However, we became interested in how exactly the top spot (with the highest number of viewers) would change hands based on time of the day. We analyzed the LoL, Dota 2 and CS:GO categories for October 2020, and you may find the results of this analysis in our blog.

Our method of calculation consists of calculating the average viewers indicator of Twitch channels for each of the 24 hours of every day in October. For each hour we’ve selected the leader based on the average viewers. As for the time zone used in the article, that’d be UTC +0 – in other words, Greenwich Mean Time.

Let’s start with League of Legends, which hosted the World Championship in October. Thanks to it, the official RiotGames channel became the most popular one from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The esports matches were the main reason behind the explosive amount of game’s category views.

During the breaks from LoL Worlds 2020 matches, the title of the most popular channel was falling into the hands of streamers. On October evenings, viewers mostly followed the broadcasts of the three-time world champion Faker and the former commentator ibai. At this time the European audience is the most active. Closer to the nighttime (GMT) LoLTyler is becoming the game category’s most popular channel – likely due to the influence of the American community.

It is also understandable that the interest of fans of the game in esports and ordinary streamers tend to vary considerably. During the LoL Worlds matches, the number of category’s viewers increased several times. On the other hand, the most-watched League of Legends channel never falls below the 40 thousand viewers mark thanks to the large fanbase around the world.

In Dota 2, the game’s competitive component tends to dominate over regular streamers even more. In October, the esports broadcasts were the Twitch category’s most-watched channels starting from 7:00 AM and until the end of the day.

The streamers managed to get to the top only during the nighttime when the number of live tournaments became minimal. In particular, the popularity of brTT from 3:00 AM to 4:00 AM was rather phenomenal. The Brazilian esports athlete is famous due to League of Legends, but his viewers seem to be happy to watch Dota 2 as well.

The American streamer masondota2 was also getting to the top during the nighttime when Europe and the CIS were unable to follow the broadcasts. Thanks to the Western viewers, the former esports athlete became the most popular in the category – albeit for just an hour. By the European morning, he was already dethroned by other channels.

When it comes to CS:GO, another game by Valve, the situation is a bit different. While the category’s content is generally dominated by esports, streamers tend to rise to the top more often. The one appearing among the shooter’s most popular channels most often would be Gaules. While his broadcasts are mostly based on the tournament broadcasts, he is still considered a standalone streamer rather than a studio channel.

When it comes to Twitch’s CS:GO category in October, it was also dominated by esports. Only sometimes did streamers manage to break through this monopoly. One of such streamers is the forward of FC PSG, the world-famous Brazilian football star: Neymar.

Early mornings tended to always belong to goncho, a popular blogger from Argentina. While CS:GO is not even his main category, in October he has managed to reach the highest average viewership mark during the period from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM.

In the evening, the Russian-speaking streamer Evelone192 managed to get to the top. His channel is one of the most popular in CIS in the game’s Twitch category, and his fans are so numerous that he sometimes managed to overtake even the large sports tournaments.

When comparing all three graphs, it becomes possible to see where each game’s target audience stands. CS:GO and Dota 2 feature the most viewers during the active period of the CIS. When it comes to the League of Legends, that’d be morning and midday – in other words, the timeframe more suitable for Western Europe and some parts of America.