VCT Masters Bangkok Kicks Off with Record-Breaking Viewership
The 2025 Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) season has begun with a bang as Masters Bangkok delivered an exceptional opening day of competition. The tournament’s first day featured stunning plays, dramatic overtimes, and unprecedented viewer engagement across multiple regions.
Opening Matches Set the Stage
The day began with a clash between defending world champions EDward Gaming and the returning Team Liquid, marking Liquid’s first international appearance in over 12 months. The series opened on Split with an intense overtime battle, where EDG eventually prevailed 18-16. This thrilling opener drew nearly 470,000 concurrent viewers at its peak. EDG continued their momentum on Pearl with a more commanding 13-6 victory, maintaining steady viewership between 400-410,000 throughout.
DRX Dominates Fan Favorites
The second match of the day pitched South Korea’s DRX against North American powerhouse Sentinels, widely recognized as Valorant’s most popular team. Despite strong support from their North American fanbase, Sentinels struggled to find their footing against a disciplined DRX squad. The Korean team secured a definitive 2-0 series victory, though Sentinels showed signs of life on Haven before ultimately falling 13-10. This highly anticipated matchup achieved the day’s peak viewership, surpassing 563,000 concurrent viewers.
Viewership Analysis
Compared to the previous Masters event in Shanghai, Bangkok’s opening day demonstrated remarkable growth across multiple metrics:
- English-language broadcasts saw the most significant increase, averaging 37,000 more viewers
- Thai and Korean language streams showed notable growth
- Eight different language broadcasts maintained averages above 10,000 concurrent viewers, up from five during Shanghai’s opening day
Looking Ahead
The tournament continues tomorrow with two compelling matchups:
- Team Vitality vs T1
- G2 Esports vs Trace Esports
This strong start suggests Masters Bangkok could set new viewership records for international Valorant competition, particularly impressive given the challenging broadcast times for Western audiences.
