Team Liquid was the most viewed esports organization in 2018
Esports Charts recently released detailed esports viewership statistics
for 2018, and there were some pretty surprising outcomes.
The first category sorted was “Most Popular Esports Tournaments,” which could be calculated by both hours watched and peak viewers numbers. The League of Legends World Championship took the first spot, with 78.8 million total hours watched. This was followed by The International, with 64 million hours watched.
There weren’t too many shockers in the “hours watched” chart, but the “peak viewers” version of the data showed some new faces. Riot Games’ World Championship and Valve’s The International still held the top spots with 1.9 and 1.3 million peak viewers, respectively. But esports viewers may not have expected to see the PUBG Global Invitational in the top ten with a peak viewership of 797,000.
To give an idea of how many people this really is, Esports Charts noted that the Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am tournament had over 1.97 million peak viewers, which they noted was equal to 22 full Wembley Stadiums.
The International’s most viewed game had nearly 2 million views alone, which was very similar to the most viewed games from League’s World Championship. No other game could really compare to those numbers, but Counter-Strike: Global Offensive came close with a little over 1.3 million peak views during the Eleague Major. The Overwach League came in fourth, peaking at 436,789 peak views in Season 1 Stage 1.
Esports Charts also showcased the most popular teams by hours watched. Team Liquid took first place with 92.8 million hours watched, followed closely by Fnatic at 90.8 million. Cloud9 took third with 57.6 million hours watched.
One team that surprised the
Reddit community with its placement was Astralis, which came in ninth despite having only a CS:GO team. Astralis had an impressive 40.4 million hours watched. Reddit users speculated that the team received so many views thanks to always being in the finals of the tournaments they enter, and thus the most viewed stage of each such tournament.
Olivia Richman
About Olivia Richman
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
View full profile
Read Also
League of Legends
Caps Hall of Legends skins prices and dates revealed
Hannan Mundia
Caps is the latest League of Legends player to be inducted into the Hall of Legends, and the LEC player’s dedicated skins have been revealed, including their prices and release dates. The Hall of Legends is Riot Games’ way to honor a handful of the most well-known and celebrated professional players associated with LoL. The first inductee was naturally Faker, while the second was Uzi. The third player is Caps, ...
League of Legends
Five Support Champions To Pick Up in LoL Patch 26.17
Ben Boland
The support meta in League of Legends is one of the most highly discussed roles in the game right now. With Riot doubling down on the roaming support playstyle, we will likely see more champions added to the pool around the time of Worlds 2026, which begins on 15 October. At the time of writing this article, the current patch, 26.17, is being tested on the PBE, with the launch ...
League of Legends
These Are Five Top Lane Champions To Pick Up in League of Legends Patch 26.17
Ben Boland
League of Legends patch 26.17 is just around the corner, and with that patch comes more changes to the role. The days of ADCs in the lane are starting to be a thing of the past, with more bruisers hitting the gym before the launch of 26.17. Many top laners are receiving buffs on the new patch, while powerhouses such as Nasus and Vayne are on the chopping block, making ...
League of Legends
Here Is What To Expect From the League of Legends Patch 26.17
Ben Boland
It’s less than a week until the release of League of Legends Patch 26.17, and with this patch comes some significant nerfs to popular champions, item adjustments, and targeting roaming supports as mage bottom lanes dominate the meta. While there is plenty to unpack in this week's patch from Riot Games, two champions, Vayne and Xerath, have received the biggest nerfs across the board. Here are some of the biggest ...
League of Legends
Trade on LGD vs Bilibili Gaming at Polymarket — Use Promo Code WINGGPREMAR
Ben Boland
Bilibili Gaming comes into their best-of-three series against LGD Gaming as the overwhelming favorites, with Polymarket traders giving the MSI finalists an 83% implied probability of winning at the time of writing this article. The prediction market doesn’t give LGD much of a chance at all, and with traders backing BLG heavily, it paints a picture of who is most likely to win this series in the LPL Split 3, ...
League of Legends
Which Teams Should Be Panicking Ahead of LoL Worlds 2026?
Ben Boland
The 2026 League of Legends World Championship is fast approaching, with the tournament beginning on 15 October. 19 of the best teams that esports has to offer will do battle in North America for a shot at the Summoner's Cup. For teams like Bilibili Gaming and Hanwha Life Esports, their fates are already sealed without stepping foot on the Rift again, but for the rest of the teams, they will ...
League of Legends
Predictions For Gen.G vs Dplus KIA: Best Value Odds at GGBET
Ben Boland
Two of the more in-form teams in the LCK go head-to-head as Dplus KIA takes on Gen.G on 22 August. Despite the odds leaning more towards a Gen.G win, there are some solid bets to make across the board, not just simply the result. Dplus KIA have shown impressive form throughout the summer and so shouldn’t be discounted in this series. In this preview, we will highlight the best chances to ...
