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The annual world championship for Rainbow Six Siege, the Six Invitational, lead all channels over the weekend as teams from across the world battled for a $3M USD prize pool.
Magic: The Gathering also concluded its competitive season with a $1M World Championship.
The weekend was filled with big esports events, including the 9th edition of the Smash Summit, a recurring Super Smash Bros. Melee invitational. This edition awarded the second largest prize pool in Melee history.
The following content is ranked according to the total number of hours watched on Twitch from Monday to the following Sunday, with data compiled using TEO Access.
Rainbow Six on Top
Despite only broadcasting two matches each on Saturday and Sunday, the main Rainbow Six Siege channel kept viewers engaged with various panels and community acknowledgements to the tune of 3.52M hours watched, more than 1M ahead of any other channel last week.
Viewership for the Six Invitational has grown substantially year-over-year, and the game’s playerbase recently surpassed 55M. With a new regional structure kicking off this year and a revenue sharing program that includes crowdfunding, Rainbow Six is well-positioned to continue its upward trajectory.
It Must be Magic
Despite its global popularity, viewership for Magic esports rarely breaks into the Top 10. This was especially true before the launch of Arena, a modern digital client for the decades-old card game. Before Arena, major competitions were played with physical cards which made spectating difficult for all but the most dedicated fans.
Now with a modern, easily watchable client, and a large cash infusion from parent company Hasbro, Magic has leveled up as an esport, generating 1.49M hours watched for its World Championship.
Always Down to Smash
Beyond the Summit has carved out a niche for itself in the esports space, presenting high-level competition with a laid back atmosphere. It’s unique crowdfunding system has also been a boon to the under-supported Super Smash Bros. Melee scene which has yet to receive any additional prize money for its major tournaments from publisher Nintendo. As a result, Smash Summit events are largely uncontested in providing the biggest prize pools each year for Melee competitions (though these prize pools are still small compared to most major esports, capping out below $100K).
With over $60K, the second-largest pot in Melee history, on the line and a full weekend of exhibitions and top level competition, Beyond The Summit generated 1.26M hours watched on its main Smash channel.
