The ongoing IEM Cologne 2024 is one of Counter-Strike’s most celebrated annual tournaments. The Group Stage has concluded, and the teams advancing to the playoffs have been determined. While the average concurrent viewership has remained consistent with last year, the 2024 event has seen a significant drop in total watch time due to changes introduced with Counter-Strike 2.
The four-day Group Stage recorded a total of 10.54 million hours watched. Day three garnered the highest viewership as elimination matches in Group A, featuring teams like Astralis and G2 Esports, took place, alongside the first eliminations in Group B. Despite only a 1.1% drop in average viewership, watch time for this year’s Group Stage decreased by 24.4%.
Decline in watch time
This decline in watch time can largely be attributed to the fact that the 2024 Group Stage was 12 hours shorter than the previous year. This was due to more matches ending in quick 2-0 victories, as well as the new round win-limit changes in Counter-Strike 2, which reduced the maximum number of rounds from 30 to 24. Although viewership during the Play-In stage was notably low, the shorter Group Stage allowed IEM Cologne 2024 to maintain a strong average viewership, even though it couldn’t match last year’s overall viewership or peak concurrent viewers.
The most popular match of the 2024 event was FaZe Clan’s game against Team Liquid, which determined the final playoff spot. FaZe Clan secured their place in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory over the North American team.
Twitch peak viewership for the 2024 event has dropped by about 100,000 viewers compared to last year, although the YouTube Live peak has stayed consistent. Brazilian caster Gaules now also streams his Counter-Strike event coverage on YouTube, helping to sustain viewership on the platform.
English and Russian-language peak viewership has declined significantly compared to last year, while Portuguese-language viewership has risen. Although Portuguese-language viewership was low during the Play-In stage, Brazilian fans showed more interest as the event moved into the Group Stage.
The Brazilian team paiN Gaming narrowly missed qualifying for the playoffs, losing to G2 Esports. Portuguese-language viewership was particularly strong during their games, as well as for FURIA, who were eliminated after just two matches. It will be interesting to see if Portuguese-language viewership can maintain its share of total peaks without a Brazilian team in the playoffs.
FaZe Clan dominated the rankings
FaZe Clan dominated the rankings of the most popular Group Stage matches, securing both the first and second spots. Their match against Team Vitality on day three wasn’t as highly viewed as their game against Team Liquid but still attracted 375,000 peak viewers, making it the most-watched match of the day.
NAVI’s match against SAW saw 355,600 peak viewers, thanks in part to fans transitioning from watching paiN Gaming’s game against G2 Esports. While NAVI is one of Counter-Strike’s most popular teams, many viewers of this match were Brazilian fans who had just watched paiN Gaming’s previous match. There was also a noticeable increase in Ukrainian viewership, but the Brazilian audience was larger.
IEM Cologne 2024 has had a modest start this year. The Play-In stage wasn’t particularly well-watched, and the Group Stage hasn’t seen much improvement. While overall viewership remains steady, it doesn’t indicate significant growth for the esports title. The playoffs, beginning on August 16, still have the potential to reach a peak in viewership, especially with fan favorites like NAVI, Vitality, G2 Esports, and FaZe Clan competing. Keep an eye on our social channels and blog posts for more detailed coverage and viewership statistics during the playoffs.