Japan brings numbers for most-watched VCT Pacific tourney

VCT Pacific Kickoff 2024 has become the most-watched Valorant tournament in APAC so far, according to data from renowned statistics provider Esports Charts.

In a report published February 26, Esports Charts said that the Grand Finals of the VCT 2024 Pacific Kickoff received 433,566 peak viewers which they say is “far higher than any other Pacific-based event in Valorant so far” based on their current data.

The said finals saw Korean team Gen.G take the inaugural Kickoff title in a decisive victory, 3-1, against 2023 Valorant Champions LA runner-up Paper Rex (PRX).

However, data from Esports Charts dated February 17-25, or during the conduct of the tourney, show that 4 out of 5 most-watched matches came from those with Japanese teams.

 

The Group Stage Day 3 battle between South Korean team T1 and Japanese team ZETA Division drew 462,603 viewers – the league’s peak viewership.

This was followed by two matches between India-based team Global Esports and ZETA: Their 18 February matchup drew 422,165 peak views, while the 21 February group stage bout drew 408,767.

Rounding out the top 5 was the battle between Detonation FocusMe or DFM, another Japanese Valorant pro team, and South Korean Valorant powerhouse DRX, which drew 402,157 viewers.

The report also notes, “Japanese was by far the most popular language of the event, receiving more than double the peak viewership of the second-most popular language, English. Japanese viewership capped at 302.3K Peak Viewers for ZETA’s match against T1 during the Group Stage. Japanese official broadcasts on both Twitch and YouTube were also the most popular channels to cover the tournament.”

They also noted that Detonation FocusMe’s partnership with Crazy Racoon, which is a popular Japanese esports organization, helped to add more followers to watch the tournament, saying, “Crazy Raccoon and DetonatioN FocusMe combined their rosters, bringing fans from both organisations together.”

 

JINGGG, YAY, AND THE COMMUNITY: OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

Wang Jing “Jinggg” Yie, who was PRX’s key player in Worlds, set himself as one of the “sixth men” to improve the overall tourney viewership of VCT Pacific, Esports Charts also noted.

Jinggg’s fans helped boost overall viewership to his personal Twitch channel, which got over 22,500 peak views – a personal record.

The star athlete had to step down from his spot to complete his mandatory two-year National Service in Singapore after having used the maximum allowable deferment periods.

Jacob “yay” Whiteaker, the North American player now with Bleed Esports, also helped contribute in generating interest for VCT Pacific by virtue of his signing with the said team. However, Bleed’s early elimination may have dampened hopes for a maximum impact.

Esports Charts notes, “Yay’s entrance to the league was thought to bring significant English-language viewership to the league, but the peak viewership for English was recorded during the grand final match. Almost 149K concurrent viewers tuned in at peak for the match, which could originate from English-speaking Pacific countries like Singapore, or increased interest from international fans outside the region.”

Esports Charts also noted that over 140 channels covered VCT Pacific Kickoff, majority of which were Japanes Twitch community casters who received tens of thousands of concurrent viewers at peak.

They also noted that despite not having a Japanese team in the VCT Pacific Grand Finals, 65% of the 433,566 came from Japanese market.