TI 2026 qualifiers averaged 21% higher live viewership

Qualifiers for The International 2026 drew larger and steadier live audiences across regions, with average live viewership up 21.38% year over year and total watch time rising 8.4% to 11.2 million hours during the qualifying cycle. Sixteen teams have secured places at The International 2026.

There was one fewer regional event in 2026 after Western and Eastern Europe were combined into a single Europe Regional Qualifier. Despite that, the number of unique broadcasting channels covering qualifiers changed little, from 371 in 2025 to 377 in 2026.

Europe accounted for more than 57% of total qualifier hours watched. The consolidated European qualifier logged 6.45 million hours watched. An Upper Bracket Round 3 match between Team Spirit and Nigma Galaxy reached a peak of 216,692 concurrent viewers, compared with a 222,432 peak recorded at a previous regional qualifier in 2023.

North America averaged 5,746 live viewers for its regional qualifier, down by more than 6,000 viewers from 2025. Southeast Asia, South America and China recorded changes mostly within a 10% range year over year. Southeast Asia was the only region to register an increase in peak concurrent viewers, while China’s total watch time rose as the number of global channels broadcasting its qualifiers nearly doubled.

Platform preferences varied by region. Twitch led in Europe and North America, YouTube led in Southeast Asia, and Kick closed the gap with Twitch in South America. Chinese audiences continued to favor domestic platforms such as Huya, Bilibili and DouYu, while coverage on international platforms increased.

The 16 teams qualified for The International 2026 are Aurora, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, 1w Team, Xtreme Gaming, Team Yandex, Team Resilience, Team Spirit, Vici Gaming, OG, GamerLegion, LGD Gaming, PARIVISION, Nigma Galaxy, HULIGANI and BetBoom Team.

The qualifying cycle now gives way to the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, scheduled for July 6 to 18, which will precede The International 2026 in Shanghai from August 13 to 23. The International 2026 carries a $1.6 million prize pool, with playoffs set for the Oriental Sports Center, an 18,000-seat indoor arena. Detailed viewership and regional breakdowns are available in the analytics report that tracked the qualifying cycle.