The SMITE World Championship Season X took place recently at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas from January 4 to 15. Despite the hype and entertaining sideshow, with the championship being a LAN event, it achieved modest numbers compared to its predecessors.
In the tenth season of Smite’s esports journey, eight teams navigated a challenging qualification path for a chance to compete for the world champion title. This included events like the SMITE Pro League and SCC Championship, with the SWC Group Stages being the final qualification opportunity for the mega event.
Adding to the occasion was the announcement of Smite 2 by the event organizer and the game’s developer, Hi-Rez Studios. This hinted that 2023 could be the last year with esports from the first installment, making the world championship possibly its final tournament.
After three days of intense action, Jade Dragons emerged as the new world champion, defeating the previously dominant Oni Warriors 3:2. This upset came as a surprise, as Oni Warriors had dominated the competition until that point, remaining unbeaten in the final phase with easy 2:0 and 3:0 victories.
The SMITE World Championship Season X recorded 56.7K Peak Viewers during the summit clash.
With the tournament winner making three appearances in the most popular matches list. The event also registered 1.6M Hours Watched and 24.7K Average Viewers over 67 hours of airtime. On the final day featured a fun session with developers and audience members building an imaginary God (Bake Neko) before a Smite 2 Dev Insight panel showcased the upcoming sequel.
When it comes to the popularity of the sides, only two crossed the 40K AV mark, and the number one team topped the watch time leaderboard. Twitch had a higher share than its competition, with the game’s official handle emerging as the most successful channel. English reclaimed its supremacy over Spanish in terms of peak concurrent viewership.
The SMITE World Championship Season X ranked seventh and sixth on the Hours Watched and Peak Viewers tables among the most successful competitions in the game. Despite Twitch drops being available for viewers, it didn’t significantly boost fan engagement. This edition marked the second consecutive one with live audiences, but the numbers didn’t reach the levels seen during the pandemic era, impacting audience reach.
The peak of the SMITE professional scene occurred in 2015-2017, featuring top esports clubs like Cloud9, SK Gaming, NRG Esports, Team Dignitas, and Luminosity Gaming. However, many top organizations have left SMITE, resulting in smaller prize pools and a direct impact on audience reach.