The most watched Dota 2 tournaments of all time

Dota 2

Thales Costa

In the competitive esports landscape, Dota 2 has established itself as one of the premier titles for viewership, with tournaments consistently drawing millions of viewers.

Let's explore the most watched Dota 2 tournaments in history, examining what made these events special and how they've shaped the competitive scene.

The International 10 (Credits: Valve)

Top 5 Most Watched Dota 2 Tournaments of All Time

The International 10 (2021) - Peak viewership: 2,741,514 viewers This Bucharest-hosted tournament stands as the undisputed king of Dota 2 viewership, setting a record that remains unbroken. TI 10 featured an unprecedented $40 million prize pool and showcased Team Spirit's remarkable underdog story.
The International 9 (2019) - Peak viewership: ~2 million viewers Held in Shanghai, China, TI 9 was the most-watched Dota 2 event at that time, featuring OG's historic second consecutive Aegis victory with a 3-1 win over Team Liquid.
The International 11 (2022) - Peak viewership: 1.7 million viewers Taking place in Singapore, TI 11 became the third most-watched Dota 2 event ever, with its peak occurring during the finals between Team Secret and Tundra Esports. This marked the first TI held in Southeast Asia, featuring a revamped format with a Last Chance Qualifier.
The International 13 (2024) - Peak viewership: 1.52 million viewers Held in Copenhagen's Royal Arena, TI 13 saw a slight increase from the previous year's numbers. The most popular match was the grand final between Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators, which attracted over 1.5 million concurrent viewers.
The International 12 (2023) - Peak viewership: 1.44 million viewers The twelfth iteration of Valve's premier tournament recorded a peak viewership of 1.44 million, continuing the trend of The International dominating the viewership charts for Dota 2 events.

Beyond The International: PGL Majors

While The International dominates the viewership charts, PGL has established itself as one of the most successful tournament organizers in Dota 2 history. The PGL Kyiv Major 2017 holds the distinction of being the most-watched Dota 2 Major of all time, followed by the Arlington Major 2022, which reached an impressive 707,907 peak viewers.

The Arlington Major 2022 was particularly notable as it was the first North American Dota 2 Major in six years and was a sold-out event. With its impressive viewership, it became the most-watched Dota 2 tournament of 2022 (outside of TI) and the sixth most-watched in the franchise's history.

PGL has consistently delivered top-tier tournaments, with four events in the top six most-watched Dota 2 Majors of all time, including the Kyiv Major (#1), Arlington Major (#2), Singapore Major 2021 (#4), and The Kuala Lumpur Major (#6).

OG after winning the PGL Kyiv Major 2017 (Credits: PGL/Valve)

Viewership Trends and Challenges

The viewership data reveals some interesting trends in Dota 2's competitive scene. While TI 10 set an extraordinary benchmark with over 2.7 million peak viewers, subsequent editions have seen a gradual decline. TI 11 recorded 1.7 million viewers, followed by TI 12 with 1.44 million, and TI 13 with a slight recovery to 1.52 million.

This pattern raises questions about the long-term trajectory of Dota 2 as an esport. The significant drop between TI 10 (2021) and TI 11 (2022) was particularly notable, with viewership decreasing by approximately one million viewers.

Some of this decline has been attributed to reduced viewership from Russian-speaking platforms, with Russia historically providing a large number of viewers for the Dota Pro Circuit. The number of Russian viewers for TI 11 fell by around 500,000 to 700,000 compared to previous years.

The Shanghai Major Fiasco: A Tournament to Forget

While we've discussed the most-watched tournaments, it's worth highlighting one of the most infamous events in Dota 2 history: the 2016 Shanghai Major. This $3 million tournament, sponsored by Valve and run by Perfect World (Valve's Chinese publisher for Dota 2), became legendary for all the wrong reasons.

From the very beginning, the tournament was plagued with technical difficulties that made it nearly unwatchable. The English stream would frequently freeze during games, mics were broken or had their volume set too low, and strange audio issues included machine gun-like sounds playing over the broadcast. At one point, an overlay incorrectly announced a team had won while the match was still ongoing.

The drama escalated when host James "2GD" Harding was publicly fired on the second day by Valve founder Gabe Newell, who posted on Reddit that "James is an ass, and we won't be working with him again". The entire production company, KeyTV, was also fired mid-tournament. Despite bringing in a new production team, the issues continued with:

Game delays of up to two hours
A canceled opening ceremony
Player booths that weren't properly soundproofed and smelled strongly of glue
Poor food quality for participants
No transportation for talent after shows
Games running until midnight local time

The problems continued even after the event ended, with 40-50 personal belongings from players' hotel rooms going missing, including mice, keyboards, headsets, and car keys. The tournament damaged the reputation of Dota 2 as an esport and of China as a desirable location for future events. The Shanghai Major fiasco highlighted the importance of proper event management and production in esports, serving as a cautionary tale that even major publishers like Valve aren't immune to organizational disasters.

The Future of Dota 2

Dota 2's tournament viewership history reflects both the tremendous growth of esports and the challenges of maintaining momentum in an increasingly competitive landscape. The International continues to be the pinnacle of Dota 2 esports, consistently drawing the highest viewership numbers. However, the gradual decline in recent years suggests that tournament organizers and Valve may need to innovate to recapture the magic of TI 10.

Nevertheless, with millions of viewers consistently tuning in to major tournaments, Dota 2 remains one of the premier esports titles globally. As we look toward future events in 2025 and beyond, the question isn't whether Dota 2 will continue to draw impressive viewership, but rather if it can once again break its own records and reach new heights in the ever-expanding world of competitive gaming.

Featured image credits: Valve

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