The conclusion of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Legends Stage on May 16 brought some surprising results, including the elimination of Natus Vincere and G2 Esports, as well as the absence of Russian players in the playoffs for the first time in Major history.
On the viewership front, the tournament set new records on Romanian, Polish, and Ukrainian streams, with the latter achieving the highest viewership across all esports disciplines.
During the Monte vs. Natus Vincere match and the parallel game between FaZe Clan and Bad News Eagles, Ukrainian-language broadcasts reached a peak viewership of over 60,000 concurrent viewers, surpassing the previous record set during The International 2022 finals. Polish and Romanian CS:GO broadcasts also saw record-breaking numbers, with over 10,000 Romanian fans tuning in to support Romanian player iM during the Apeks vs. GamerLegion match, while Polish broadcasts attracted 118.2K peak viewers due to the presence of 9INE, the first Polish team in a Major in five years.
In terms of overall viewership, the Legends Stage at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 accumulated 22.7 million hours watched, representing a 6.5% decrease compared to the Legends Stage of the previous year’s IEM Rio Major. The French tournament slightly trailed behind the Brazilian event in terms of peak viewers and average viewers. The match between Natus Vincere and FaZe Clan, with the teams vying for qualification to the Champions Stage, emerged as the most popular match of the Legends Stage, drawing significantly more peak viewers than any other match.
The performance of individual teams directly impacted viewership numbers. FURIA Esports’ early exit from the tournament led to a decrease in viewership on the Portuguese-language broadcast, while G2 Esports’ elimination also had a negative effect. Conversely, Natus Vincere’s presence in multiple matches and their popularity contributed to the overall hours watched.
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