IEM Katowice 2025 has brought Counter-Strike back to Poland, marking the return of the iconic event series with its Play-In stage, showcasing top-ranked teams from Valve’s global leaderboards. The opening day proved to be a resounding success, achieving the highest viewership since 2020.
The most-watched match of the day featured FURIA Esports against the female team Imperial Valkyries, drawing nearly 400,000 concurrent viewers. This peak was approximately 70,000 higher than the opening day of the 2024 Katowice tournament. Similar to the recent BLAST Premier Bounty Season 1 2025, the inclusion of a female team in the early stages of the event significantly boosted viewership, media attention, and overall interest in the Katowice-based tournament.
The opening day of IEM Katowice 2025 reached a peak of 412,700 viewers, primarily during FURIA’s match against the female squad, which coincided with Wildcards’ game against BIG. While several other matches took place, none came close to the viewership numbers of the top match.
The expanded format of the event ensured hours of continuous live coverage, with eight matches played over 12 hours of broadcasting. This resulted in 2.68 million Hours Watched, a 57% increase compared to the previous year’s opening day. Although average viewership saw only a slight rise, the extended watch time was attributed to the shift from best-of-one to best-of-three matches in the Play-in stage. This change allowed for longer broadcasting without negatively impacting average viewership.
Opening day
The 2025 tournament’s opening day demonstrated positive growth across all major metrics. English, Russian, and Portuguese-speaking audiences played a significant role in driving viewership peaks, and their engagement is expected to continue throughout the event. YouTube viewership also saw notable growth, particularly among Brazilian audiences, who slightly favored the platform over Twitch.
When considering both the first and second days of the Play-in stage, some metrics stabilized. Portuguese and Russian viewership peaks were lower than last year’s opening days, but English-language viewership remained robust. Additionally, the rise of YouTube Gaming as a platform for Counter-Strike esports broadcasts was evident.
The new expanded Play-in format is poised to increase watch time for the tournament. IEM Katowice consistently ranks among the most popular Counter-Strike events of the year, often recording some of the highest third-party viewership numbers, second only to Majors and other elite tournaments. With its strong start, IEM Katowice 2025 could potentially surpass BLAST Premier Bounty Season 1 2025 as the year’s most-watched tournament. Keep an eye on the updated viewership statistics as the event progresses.
