Look Sports Media – The Valorant Esports World Cup (EWC) Grand Finals, featuring a clash of titans between FNATIC and Team Heretics, delivered a shockingly low peak viewership of just 451,943, a stark contrast to the over 1 million viewers who tuned in for the VCT Masters Toronto Final. This significant disparity raises questions about the EWC’s overall success and points to a potential viewer boycott fueled by widespread criticism.
The underwhelming numbers, sourced from Esports Charts (excluding Chinese viewership), become even more striking when compared to the popularity of alternative viewing options. Popular streamers like Mixwell (397,855 viewers) and GOFNS (444,787 views) significantly outperformed the official broadcast, suggesting a large portion of the fanbase actively chose to avoid the main EWC stream. This trend mirrors similar resistance to official broadcasts seen in other esports titles, such as the controversial response to a Caedrel League of Legends EWC co-stream.
The EWC’s struggles extend beyond simply low viewership. Numerous complaints flooded social media regarding subpar broadcast quality, including missed crucial moments, unexpectedly high player ping for a LAN event, and an inconvenient schedule. One particularly damning tweet from user @wheres_koji described the event as "one of the worst [he’s] ever spent any time watching," highlighting widespread dissatisfaction. Technical issues further exacerbated the situation, with a semifinal experiencing a two-hour pause, including a half-hour black screen and audio outage. These issues, coupled with criticisms of casting and observing quality compared to VCT Masters Toronto, likely contributed to the viewer exodus.
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With the EWC now concluded, teams shift their focus back to regional VCT circuits. Competition resumes across various regions, starting July 15th in the Pacific region and July 16th in China, EMEA, and the Americas. These regional stages are critical for securing spots in the upcoming VCT Champions in Paris, where teams like Paper Rex (VCT Toronto Masters champions) and the EWC finalists, FNATIC and Team Heretics, will undoubtedly be strong contenders. However, the EWC’s dismal performance serves as a stark warning to organizers, highlighting the importance of prioritizing broadcast quality and viewer experience to avoid future viewership collapses.
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