The grand final of Valorant Champions 2024 in South Korea is just days away, with four teams—Sentinels, Team Heretics, Leviatán, and EDward Gaming—competing for the championship. These teams hail from different franchise leagues and regions, each with varying levels of popularity among viewers. Esports Charts analysts have predicted viewership numbers for the final based on potential matchups.
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Sentinels impressed at VCT 2024: Masters Madrid by winning the championship, but their performance in the subsequent Americas league seasons was underwhelming, never placing higher than 5th. At Valorant Champions 2024, their struggles continued, losing series to Gen.G and EDward Gaming. Sentinels will now face Team Heretics in the lower bracket, a matchup that didn’t occur in the group stage but will be featured in the playoffs.
Team Heretics, after a disappointing performance at their home tournament in Madrid, reached the final of VCT 2024: Masters Shanghai. Despite strong performances in the EMEA league, they have yet to secure a championship. At Valorant Champions 2024, Team Heretics went undefeated in a tough group, defeating FunPlus Phoenix and Gen.G, and winning their first playoff match against Fnatic. However, they were surprisingly defeated by Leviatán, a team proving their strength on the global stage.
Leviatán has shown strong performance in the Americas league this year, even winning the second-stage championship. Despite previous international struggles, they seem to be turning things around at Valorant Champions 2024, having defeated Team Vitality, Talon Esports, and G2 Esports. Their unexpected win over Team Heretics highlighted their potential for a global breakthrough.
EDward Gaming’s journey mirrors Leviatán’s. They dominated their domestic league, winning two consecutive seasons, but their international performances have been inconsistent, with their best finishes being 5th at the Masters tournaments in Madrid and Shanghai. At Valorant Champions 2024, EDward Gaming displayed inconsistency, losing some maps by large margins. Despite this, they advanced to the upper bracket semifinals and surprisingly defeated Sentinels, despite bookmakers and experts giving Sentinels a 65-70% chance of winning.
Valorant Champions 2024 Grand Final Predictions
In the upper bracket, EDward Gaming and Leviatán will compete for the first spot in the grand final, while Sentinels and Team Heretics will fight to stay in the tournament in the lower bracket.
From an audience perspective, a grand final featuring Sentinels versus Team Heretics would be ideal. Both teams have strong support from community casters in their respective language groups, such as tarik, mixwell, ibai, Kyedae, TheGrefg, and FNS, which could draw a larger viewership than other matchups.
Analysts
Analysts have used two methods to predict potential viewership for the grand final. The first method is team-based, analyzing historical viewership trends from previous world championship finals.
In a worst-case scenario, if the final features Leviatán against either Team Heretics or EDward Gaming, peak viewership is expected to be between 1.05 million and 1.28 million viewers.
In a best-case scenario, with a final between Sentinels and EDward Gaming, peak viewership could reach between 1.22 million and 1.41 million viewers. Sentinels’ popularity, especially in North America with strong English-language broadcasts and community casters, is a significant factor driving this potential viewership.
The second method analyzes viewership trends from previous Valorant Champions tournaments. According to Esports Charts analyst Rodion Horbunov, if Sentinels make it to the grand final, peak viewership could break records. The current record is held by VCT 2024: Masters Madrid, with a peak of 1.68 million concurrent viewers.
“Based on peak viewership trends from past Valorant Champions tournaments (2021-2023), it is expected that Valorant Champions 2024, featuring the most popular teams, could surpass previous years’ records. The tournament could set a new high for the game, with peak viewership reaching around 1.7 million concurrent viewers,” said Rodion Horbunov.
It’s worth noting that Valorant Champions 2023 peaked at 1.29 million concurrent viewers, a notable drop from 2022. The decisive matches for Valorant Champions 2024 will take place from August 23 to 25.
