This week, Stream Hatchet is analyzing the recent surge in popularity for Riot Games’ tactical shooter VALORANT. The publisher announced the structure of the game’s new 2021 Champions Tour in December which has similarities to the League of Legends esports scene; including a world championship at the end of the season. Recent competitions have already begun sparking the upward trend in viewership over the past few months. With more official events on the horizon, VALORANT is primed to be the next big esport in 2021. As a result, Riot Games is hoping to hold the two most popular esports globally if their tactical shooter can follow the footsteps of League of Legends.
The first Challengers open online qualifier for the 2021 Champions Tour took place last weekend. Teams will have two more open chances from February 10-14 and February 24-28 to make it on the professional tour.
- Since September 2020, VALORANT has seen an increase of 39% in total hours watched across all major live streaming platforms. Additionally, the game’s average viewer count is also the most since September 2020 with more than 82K.
- VALORANT was the most successful game launch on live streaming platforms ever generating almost 350M hours watched in April 2020.
- In January 2021, VALORANT finished as the 14th most popular category across all live streaming platforms based on hours watched.
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