The 2025 edition of IEM Katowice has shattered viewership records during its Group Stage, building on the momentum from an already successful Play-in Stage. Tournament reached a remarkable milestone on day three of group matches, surpassing 1 million concurrent viewers across multiple simultaneous streams.
The highlight of the day came from an electrifying clash between Team Spirit and NAVI, which captivated nearly 900,000 viewers simultaneously. This intense Eastern European matchup delivered a thrilling three-map series, culminating in an overtime finale. NAVI emerged victorious, securing their spot in the Upper Bracket Final against TheMongolZ, with both teams now guaranteed Playoff appearances.
Viewership peaked at 882,113 concurrent viewers during the match’s overtime rounds, establishing a new record for non-Major Counter-Strike group stage matches. The exceptional numbers can be attributed to both teams’ strong Eastern European followings and their status as premier organizations in competitive Counter-Strike. The English-language broadcast accounted for more than one-third of total viewership, demonstrating the match’s global appeal.
impressive total viewership
Contributing to the day’s impressive total viewership was a concurrent match between FURIA and Astralis. While FURIA’s tournament run came to an end, their substantial Portuguese-speaking fanbase helped push the overall concurrent viewer count beyond the million mark.
Other notable matches included FaZe Clan versus Team Vitality, featuring an intriguing storyline as former FaZe Major champion Robin “ropz” Kool faced his previous teammates while representing Vitality. Additionally, a compelling matchup between Team Falcons and G2 Esports drew nearly 470,000 viewers, largely due to Nikola “NiKo” Kovač competing against G2, his team of almost five years before recently joining Falcons.
While upcoming Group Stage matches may not reach these exceptional numbers, the Playoffs could potentially see viewership surge past the million mark once again. The tournament concludes this week, with the final matches promising more high-stakes Counter-Strike action.
