2021 has seen 22 esports events reach over 1m peak viewers. Esports Charts has detailed the top 10 highest viewed esports events of 2021 (excluding Chinese viewership):
1: Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore
According to Esports Charts, the most viewed esports event of 2021 in terms of peak viewers is the Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore. The mobile title garnered a peak viewership of 5.41m and an average viewership of 2.08m across its short airtime.
What notably helped secure this record figure was the title’s popularity in Brazil. The title’s Portuguese broadcasts at one point reached a peak viewership of 1.06m. Moreover, its Spanish broadcasts also recorded figures up to approximately 890,000.
Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore is not only the highest viewed esports event of 2021, but the highest viewed in history.
2: League of Legends 2021 World Championship
Coming in second is the 2021 League of Legends World Championships with a peak viewership of 4.01m (again, excluding Chinese viewership). This is now the title’s most viewed tournament and the first competitive PC esports event to attract over 4m peak viewers.
3: PUBG Mobile Global Championship Season 0
Despite starting in November 2020, PUBG Mobile’s Global Championship Season 0 makes the list due to its conclusion – and largest peak viewership – occurring in January 2021. Recording an impressive 3.80m peak viewership, the title has managed to maintain relative strength throughout 2021.
4: M3 World Championship
The tournament, won by Tier One’s Blacklist International, secured a peak viewership of 3.19m with a total of 62.61m hours watched by fans. This is MLBB’s fourth entry in 2021’s top ten, which is more than any other title.
5: M2 World Championship
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s M2 World Championship places fifth with a peak viewership of 3.08m.
6: PGL Major Stockholm 2021
Recording a peak viewership of 2.74m, albeit still being slightly higher than TI10, was PGL Major Stockholm 2021. CS:GO’s first Major in over two years failed to disappoint by becoming the most-watched tournament in the tite’s discipline.
7: The International 10
Coming in at number seven is Dota 2’s longstanding esports spectacular The International. The event’s tenth edition was Dota 2’s most successful esports event ever, recording a peak viewership of 2.74m with viewers spending more than 107m hours watching tournament broadcasts. The latter statistic is the fourth highest in esports ever, with only League of Legends’ World Championships recording a larger statistic.
8: MPL ID Season 8
MLBB’s Indonesian league is the only regional competition to make it into the top 10 most received esports events this year. Generating a peak viewership of 2.39m, the league was actually the most popular esports event in August and September, beating the likes of the LCK, LEC and the ESL Pro League.
9. MLBB Southeast Asia Cup 2021
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s Southeast Asia Cup 2021 is ninth on the list, recording an impressive 2.28m peak viewers. The tournament, which was ultimately won by Philippines-based esports organisation Execration, garnered an average viewership of 514,617 and over 29.42m hours watched across its 57 hours of runtime.
10. Mid-Season Invitational 2021
Coming in at number 10 is League of Legends’ Mid-Season Invitational 2021. The title’s second-largest international event garnered a peak viewership of 1.83m and an average viewership of over 711,465.
