Gamers8’s viewership was a bit lower than expected (CS:GO)

Gamers8 was a $1 million CS:GO tournament that featured most of the world’s best teams. In addition to this, it was held in front of an audience, so it wasn’t just some online event that people tend to skip.

Naturally, the question arises: how did it do in terms of viewership numbers?

Gamers8 stats

According to Esports Charts, Gamers8 had 220.000 average viewers and 429.000 viewers at its peak. Because of its single-bracket format, the event lasted for just 51 hours. During this time, a total of 15 best-of-three matches were played.

#VforVictory #VforVictory #VforVictory #VforVictory #VforVictory #VforVictory #VforVictory #VforVictory pic.twitter.com/STG6F6OuwF

— Gamers8 Esports (@Gamers8GG) August 21, 2023

The atmosphere was great and the matches themselves were really exciting. Production was good, the casters were a pleasure to listen to, and the players were in great shape. But if we compare the audience numbers of Gamers8 to those of IEM Cologne, which ended just several weeks ago, we can see a big difference.

IEM Cologne had 292.000 average viewers and 727.000 viewers at its peak. One explanation for the difference could be that viewers get a little bit fatigued after a big tournament and show little interest in the one that follows immediately after, especially if it’s regarded as being less prestigious.

We’ve seen this scenario before, especially in the case of BLAST events that followed CS:GO Majors. Their viewership was absolutely abysmal.

Another reason why Gamers8 didn’t receive as much attention from the fans might have something to do with the community’s silent protest against Saudi Arabia’s attempt to make itself known in esports using the pay-to-win method, the way it currently does in football.

It’s well-known at this point that ESL was bought by the Saudi Esports Federation for around one billion Euros as part of the country’s 2030 agenda, which strives to increase its popularity among Westerners. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but cultural differences are guaranteed to cause a lot of issues.

Part of the esports community, including famous organizations like Team Liquid, journalists like Richard Lewis, and YouTubers like Charles “Cr1TiKaL” White Jr. have protested against the acquisition and even boycotted some of the Saudi-based tournaments.

That aside, Gamers8 was a high-quality tournament and its winner was Team Vitality. With this victory, the French team returned to the number 1 spot, and their best player, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, made another huge step toward winning the CS:GO Player of the Year award.

Header: ESL, Saudi Esports Federation