The VCT 2024: Masters Shanghai event concluded with Gen.G Esports emerging as champions. The next major international LAN event for the Valorant Champions Tour will be the ultimate Champions event, where Gen.G might face stronger competitors.
This Masters event followed Stage 1 regional leagues, where several previously dominant and popular teams struggled. Teams like Sentinels and LOUD from the Americas, and Karmine Corp and Gentle Mates from EMEA, did not qualify for the Masters Shanghai tournament. The absence of these fan-favorite teams negatively impacted viewership.
Masters Shanghai had lower viewership compared to the previous LAN event, Masters Madrid.
Despite this, the event showed an increase in Asian viewership for Valorant. The tournament generated 27.77 million hours watched over 72 hours of broadcasting, with an average of 340.4K viewers. Factors contributing to the lower viewership included the absence of popular teams and the event’s schedule, which was inconvenient for European and North American audiences.
The event was streamed on Chinese platforms, but data from these streams is not publicly available for comparison. Matches started very early for European and North American viewers, and fewer community casters covered the event, impacting overall viewership.
The grand final between Gen.G and Team Heretics was the most popular match, reaching 914.1K peak viewers, primarily from English-language broadcasts. Despite the low average viewership, Asian language broadcasts saw new peaks: Japanese viewership reached 164.4K concurrent viewers, the highest for an interregional Valorant LAN in 2024, and Korean viewership peaked at 93.1K concurrent viewers, a record for Korean-language Valorant esports.
Compared to Masters Madrid, Masters Shanghai had lower viewership despite a larger prize pool and longer broadcast time. The absence of Brazilian teams, which usually contribute significantly to viewership, was a major factor. However, the event highlighted growth in the Asian audience, with strong support from Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian viewers.
Community casters played a significant role in viewership.
Tarik, a Turkish-American streamer, was the most-watched broadcaster with 3.72 million hours watched. Official English and Japanese-language channels also garnered significant viewership. Community casters such as fps_shaka from Japan and former Valorant pros like TenZ and GOFNS contributed to the event’s success.
Overall, 54.9% of the 24.77 million hours watched were thanks to community casters. Despite fewer community casters than previous events, their contribution remained vital.
Masters Shanghai was the second-most popular event of the VCT 2024 calendar by peak concurrent viewership, only behind Masters Madrid. It is the 8th most popular Valorant tournament ever, slightly ahead of this year’s Americas Kickoff event. If the remaining Champions event can attract the American audience, it might surpass even the record-setting Masters Madrid.
Esports Charts will continue to analyze viewership statistics for Masters Shanghai and other esports tournaments across various genres and disciplines.