Women’s esports continued to advance in 2023, significantly improving its position within the industry. Broadcasts garnered increased viewership, and the total prize pool for tournaments surpassed $2 million. Notably, certain trends emerged, with Valorant and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang reclaiming their positions as the most popular disciplines among all women’s tournaments in 2023.
This material did not consider statistics from Chinese streaming services, as they employ a different methodology to assess the popularity of broadcasts, making a comparison with data from other platforms impossible.
In 2023, women’s esports tournaments generated 28 million hours of viewing time, an almost 15% increase from the previous year. Peak online viewership surged even further, soaring from 392.4K to 1.37M Peak Viewers. A new record was set during the grand finals of the 32nd SEA Games Women’s Tournament for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, featuring the national teams of Indonesia and the Philippines.
The most-watched discipline in women’s esports for 2023 was the shooter game Valorant. Its tournaments collectively accumulated 16.3M Hours Watched, marking a 48% increase compared to 2022. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang secured the second spot, amassing 9M Hours Watched (+22% compared to 2022). Combined, Valorant and Mobile Legends accounted for over 90% of the total viewing hours in women’s esports for 2023. The remaining share was mainly attributed to tournaments of Counter-Strike, League of Legends, and Apex Legends. It’s worth noting that PUBG Mobile, which was among the top 3 most-watched disciplines in women’s esports in 2022, did not even make it into the top 5 this time.
The Most Popular Female Esports Tournaments in 2023
The 32nd SEA Games Women’s Tournament not only set a new peak online record in women’s esports. But also emerged as the most-viewed women’s tournament in 2023. Its broadcasts generated 6.36M Hours Watched, accounting for over 70% of all women’s esports in Mobile Legends during that period.
The VCT 2023: Game Changers Championship followed closely in second place, amassing 5.6M Hours Watched. It also secured the second spot for peak online viewership among women’s tournaments in 2023.
The expansive viewership for the women’s Valorant scene was facilitated by the Game Changers series of leagues held across different countries and regions (such as EMEA, North America, Brazil, Japan, etc.). Meanwhile, although the women’s Mobile Legends scene didn’t have as many leagues, it showcased commendable viewership statistics through several major international tournaments. Apart from the 32nd SEA Games, noteworthy events include the MLBB Women’s Invitational 2023 and Woman Star League Season 6.
Distribution of Prize Pool for Female Esports Tournaments in 2023
In 2023, women’s esports tournaments awarded over $2.2 million in prize money, with over half of it being distributed in Valorant tournaments. Around 23% went to Counter-Strike events, while another 10% was attributed to Fortnite. Interestingly, despite significant viewership, women’s Mobile Legends tournaments had almost no prize money distribution, hence not making it into the top 5. It’s worth noting that the 32nd SEA Games Women’s Tournament was part of the Southeast Asian Games sports series, so the winners received the same medals as participants in traditional sports competitions.
Regarding prize distribution by regions which hosted tournaments, the most money was awarded in South America, accounting for 35.6% of the total sum. This is largely due to Brazil, given that the VCT 2023: Game Changers Championship with a $500,000 prize pool took place there. North America and Europe accounted for 26.8% and 25% of prize money, respectively, and tournaments in Asia only comprised 9% of the total prize pool in all women’s esports for 2023. There’s a clear imbalance between prize money and audience coverage in Southeast Asia, where there’s a significant fan base for women’s esports, yet major prize pools are scarce in women’s tournaments.
The Most Popular Languages and Platforms in Female Esports in 2023
In 2023, Twitch emerged as the most popular platform for streaming women’s esports, capturing about 56% of the total viewing hours across all tournament broadcasts. YouTube streams accounted for 34.1%, while the remaining viewership was divided among platforms like NimoTV, Trovo, Kick, and other streaming services.
The most prevalent language for women’s esports broadcasts in 2023 was English, accumulating 8.2M Hours Watched or 29% of total watch time for the year. Indonesian and Portuguese also made it into the top three. It’s worth noting that compared to the previous year, the volume of English broadcasts increased by 48%, and Indonesian streams saw a decline of around 25% (in 2022, Indonesian was the most popular language in women’s esports).
We hopes that in 2024, female esports tournaments will maintain a positive trend in expanding their audience, and other popular esports disciplines will follow the lead of Valorant and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
