Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first major after two years has finally culminated, shattering all viewership records to date.
Over 2.7 million viewers tuned to watch the CSGO final on the weekend, according to Esports Charts. The new number on the final game has broken all previous records by a large margin.
CSGO’s slump that was kicked in the latter half of 2020 appears to have come to an end. With the player base going up gradually, the number of tournaments is also breaking records. The biggest event of CSGO in two years was set to be huge, but the numbers recorded are beyond anyone’s expectations.
CSGO fans tune in for PGL Major Stockholm finals to watch s1mple
The final of the PGL Major Stockholm between G2 Esports and NaVi garnered a peak viewership of 2.7M. Eleague Major 2017 held the record for the most-viewed major with 1.3 million spectators, which the majors of 2018 and 2019 failed to break. The Eleague Major 2018 came close but was unable to get to the number one spot. The PGL Grand Final has created a new benchmark, shattering all expectations.
According to Esports Charts, 2.7 million spectators tuned in to Twitch and YouTube streams. On PGL’s official YouTube streams, a peek of 116K was observed. Co-streamers also attracted high numbers, adding to overall viewership. All of this combined helped PGL Major become CSGO’s most-watched event in history.
The high number of spectators could also be attributed to the nail-biting competition between the two most popular teams in esports. Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev has managed to become the best player in the world, but a major trophy had eluded him until 2021. On the other hand, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač is one of the many CSGO legends who have earned their stripes as the best but failed to win a major trophy.
The game lasted for two maps. NaVi breezed through map one, but G2 put up a fight on Nuke. Despite a 15-11 lead, the Nemanja “nexa” Isaković led roster failed to beat Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov’s schemes. After a double-overtime, NaVi came out on top, with S1mple lifting his first major trophy in front of a packed arena and millions of live viewers.
