The woman-led esports scene saw an impressively positive trend in international views this year. Discover how Female Esports Hits New Viewership Records this year in our feature below
2023 has been a big year for regional esports. Throughout the season, we’ve seen huge upsets, big roster changes and legendary teams who fought tooth and nail to break monumental records and prove their worth after decades of uncertainty.
That said, the small wins count too. And in the smaller regions, an underestimated facet of the global scene tore through their previous year’s viewership and soared to new heights.
Here we’re looking at the achievements of women in esports and how international tournaments in the SEA and beyond primed female esports for the coming year.
In 2023, Female Esports broke records in Peak Viewership, dominated by Valorant and MLBB.
Reaching 1.37M during the 32nd SEA Games Women’s Tournament, setting a historic moment for Indonesia and the Philippines.
👇 Read more about women in gaming! 👇https://t.co/TwLdoypssg
— Esports Charts 🇺🇦 (@EsportsCharts) December 29, 2023
Female Esports Hits New Viewership Records in Asia
Big strides are being made in the female esports scene, particularly in the SEA (Southeast Asia) region where the “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang” mobile MOBA has remained unwaveringly popular for years on end.
As reported by Esports Charts, viewership for the 32nd SEA Games Women’s Tournament reached 1.37 million peak viewers. The tournament, which pit Indonesia against the Philippines in the Grand Final clocked in at 6.36 million total hours watched, beating out other regions like EMEA and Brazil during the whole year.
These numbers broke viewership records for female esports in 2023. And based on the data, the 32nd SEA Games Women’s Tournament accounted for 70% of all watched women’s esports in 2023. What’s more is that these statistics don’t even account for China’s figures, which use different methods to gauge popularity.
With all that said, currently there’s a concerning difference between the numbers these events pull and the rewards offered to the victors. But that’s to be expected as Female Esports Hits New Viewership Records.
In its 32-year run, the SEA games have only recognized esports as a medal event for 3. Still, we’re already seeing the demand for these sorts of tournaments, so hopefully it won’t be long before we see bigger prize pools in the region.
However, big success was also seen in more familiar parts of the world.
50% More People Watched Female-Led Valorant Tournaments in 2023
Valorant has maintained its huge popularity across its 3-year run, and a considerable part of it is due to its events. Collectively, every woman-led Valorant tournament earned 16.3 million hours of watchtime from its viewers, a 48% increase from last year’s numbers. But they all hit their stride in the biggest female esports Valorant event of the year.
Game Changers is a Valorant Championship Tournament held for women and other marginalized genders all around the globe. And in 2023, the fans showed up in full force to support the 2-year old big-ticket event.
Albeit reaching low view count, those that did show up to the party stayed for its entirety. According to Esports Charts, the 300k that caught the livestreamed event kept coming back for more, resulting in 5.61 million hours watched.
Esports championships generate a ton of hype, and female-led esports tournaments are no different. In 2023, we’ve seen tremendous growth from regions around the world, and it won’t be long before we see higher demand for more talented women on the global stage.
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