All VCT circuits suffered from record-low viewership for 2026 Stage 1

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Stage 1 of the Valorant Champions Tour 2026 brought record-low Group Stage viewership for all International Leagues (IL), excluding China, which saw its international viewership expand by 13.2%.

The Pacific circuit retained its top spot by peak concurrent viewership, while the Americas continued to boast the largest average audience for Valorant throughout its Group Stage. 

What was the most popular Stage 1 of the VCT 2026?

The VCT 2026: Pacific Stage 1 hosted the most popular Group Stage match of the year. According to Esports Charts, over 320,500 Peak Viewers tuned in for Paper Rex’s opening game against Nongshim RedForce, the team that shocked the world by claiming victories at both the VCT 2026: Pacific Kickoff and the Valorant Masters Santiago 2026.

Coming into Stage 1, fans were excited to see if the Korean team could maintain their form for their early match against one of the Pacific’s historically strongest teams. Ultimately, Paper Rex claimed a 2:1 victory over Nongshim RedForce, fuelled by a rampage from Wang “Jingggg” Jing Jie, who amassed 76 Kills during the three-map series. 

The Pacific’s diverse range of passionate audiences allows it to reach higher peaks than any other circuit, cresting over 300,000 PV for multiple matches during the groups of Stage 1, but the VCT 2026: Americas Stage 1 retained roughly 15,000 more Average Viewers throughout the entire Group Stage runtime. Thanks to its higher average viewership, the Americas topped the watch time charts with 13.1M Hours Watched.

The EMEA circuit has often lagged behind the Americas and Pacific in terms of viewership, and nothing has changed here. However, what is noteworthy about EMEA’s results is how significantly they have fallen compared to last year, far further than the drops in the Americas or Pacific. 

How did VCT 2026 Stage 1 compare to last year?

Unfortunately for the VCT 2026: EMEA Stage 1, it showed the largest drops in viewership among any circuit. With only 8M Hours Watched and under 180,000 Peak Viewers, both of these key metrics fell by over 25%. This falling viewership not only affected official broadcasts, but more so, co-streamers.

Some of EMEA’s most popular co-streamers saw viewership decrease for 2026, including France’s co-streaming giants Kamel “Kamet0” Kebir (founder/owner of Karmine Corp) and Lucas “Squeezie” Hauchard (co-founder of Gentle Mates). However, Spain’s Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas Colocho experienced one of the most extreme drops in viewership, with over 50% fewer Average Viewers compared to 2025 Stage 1. 

The Americas recorded a roughly 20% drop in both watch time and peak concurrent viewership. While not as steep a drop as the EMEA circuit experienced, this is a significant loss in viewership for what was previously Valorant’s undisputed viewership leader.

The Pacific circuit also experienced a 22% drop in Peak Viewers, but managed to keep its overall watch time roughly stable. Despite a record-low result for Korean viewership at Stage 1, the Pacific circuit managed to bridge this gap with growth among Japanese and Thai-speaking audiences. 

China experienced a mild boost to its international watch time, although still minuscule in comparison to the attention received by other ILs. Despite this growth, the China circuit saw surprisingly few international co-streamers interact with the league, according to Esports Charts’ channel data for the event. 

Who were the top co-streamers of the VCT 2026 Stage 1?

Across the entire globe, Brazil’s Heitor “Tck10” Tomazela was the most-watched Valorant co-streamer for the Stage 1 groups in 2026. The Brazilian creator only covered the Americas league, an anomaly among top streamers who usually dip their toes into various ILs. His coverage focused on supporting local teams, with MIBR’s Group Stage loss against C9 being his most popular broadcast.

Pujan “FNS” Mehta, the former in-game-leader for NRG and now the most-watched English-language co-streamer, earned 2.37M Hours Watched thanks to his coverage of the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific circuits. Since roughly a year ago, FNS overtook Tarik “tarik” Celik to become the face of Valorant co-streaming in North America, and the gap between these two only seems to be widening. 

Over in Japan, former pro player Ushida “Lazvell” Kouji was the most-watched co-streamer for the Pacific, claiming over 1.51M Hours Watched; he also collected some of this number from a brief broadcast of EMEA matches, but a vast majority of his viewership came from the Pacific games. With his help, Japanese-language streams for the Pacific earned over 5.2M Hours Watched during the Group Stage.

Last but not least, Connor “Sliggy” Blomfield remains one of Valorant’s most dedicated and consistent co-streamers. Although he covered most matches in the Pacific and Americas, his home turf EMEA streams remain his most popular content. During the EMEA groups of Stage 1, he was the second-most-watched co-streamer for the entire region.