Rocket League World Championship Registers Peak Viewership Record: Know More

The recently concluded Rocket League World Championship (RLCS) 22-23 World Championship reportedly broke all previous peak viewership of Rocket League by a massive margin. According to Esports Charts data, the championship recorded a high of 468,292 peak concurrent viewers.

The championship event was played for over two weeks and ended on August 13th. The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) is hosted by the game’s developer Psyonix in the global esports circuit. The latest 2022-23 season had an overall prize pool of $6m (~£5.2m), with the World Championship alone giving away $2.1m (~£1.65m).

This year’s World Championship, took place in Düsseldorf, Germany managed to surpass Rocket League’s previous record of 368,721 peak viewers by close to 100,000 viewers. The event saw its past year’s peak viewership figure reached in the semi-final matchup itself which was played between French goliaths Team Vitality and Karmine Corp.

Both the teams are from the French rosters. Interestingly it is also a region where Rocket League enjoys a strong player- and fan-base. Unlike the grand finals, the semi-final match was simultaneously co-streamed by popular French streamer and Karmine Corp co-owner Kameto. On the other hand, the grand finals, which had Team Vitality and another French roster in Team BDS, witnessed a peak of 425,196 viewers.

The significance of the French audience was clearly seen in the event’s language share. Streams in French-language peaked at 203,175 viewers, not far behind English-language streams at 291,646 peak viewers.

However, the event saw a slight dip in average viewership compared to last season’s World Championship. The recent 2022-23 World Championship witnessed 154,302 average viewers while this year’s World Championship recorded 147,858 average viewers. The hours watched for both events witnessed a similar number of 9.5m vs 10m hours. The total air time was 64 vs 66 hours.

Interestingly, North American teams did not perform well in the tournament, with no teams representing one of the biggest markets for Rocket League, NA. No NA team was able to make it past the quarterfinals. The other important regions suh as MENA and South America also failed to see their teams past the quarterfinals.

ALSO READ: RLCS World Championship 2023: Team Vitality Takes Gold; All You Need To Know

Murty Shah, Esports Product and Operations Lead at Psyonix, shared a post on Twitter that read, “Our team, one that’s full of so many talented people, is on a mission to prove out the idea that Rocket League is the perfect esport.” He further said, that their vision is to go from city to city, putting on the best LANs they can, to showcase the beautiful Rocket League game. This Worlds championship was the culmination of that vision. “To make something I only dreamt about for so many years come to life on this scale has truly been the privilege of a lifetime,” he said.

Although the RLCS season may have officially ended but the Rocket League portion of Saudi esports festival Gamers8 is set to take place later this month. 

These were the most-watched matches during the World Championship weekend:

• Karmine Corp vs Team Vitality – 468.292 viewers
• Team Vitality vs Team BDS – 425,196 viewers
• Team BDS vs Team Liquid – 309,898 viewers
• Complexity Gaming vs Karmine Corp – 288,114 viewers
• G2 vs Team BDS – 281,128 viewers