Despite the disappointment over the tournament’s prize pool, Dota 2 fans are turning out in droves to watch this year’s edition of The International. After two years of stagnating viewership, the group stage of TI 2023 has kept fans engaged—and the melting pot of teams still alive in the event is playing a factor.
Average viewership was still slightly down according to an Oct. 16 report from viewership stats site Esports Charts, but the group stage’s peaks more than made up for the drop. Over 60,000 more spectators tuned in for the top match in this year’s group stage—Team Spirit vs. Shopify Rebellion—when compared to last year’s edition.
Interestingly, this year’s peak group stage game also featured Team Spirit as 748,744 tuned in to see them defeat Shopify Rebellion 2-0 to qualify for the playoffs upper bracket. Spirit’s success of recent has seen them receive top billing at TI, and their success, alongside other CIS-based squads like BetBoom and Virtus Pro.
The obvious benefit to 2023’s edition of TI is its location. Returning home to Seattle, U.S. has meant a much more favorable timezone for Russian, European, and American audiences. Last year’s event in Singapore catered well for Chinese and South-East Asian viewers but the difference between the regions is stark when considering viewership on Twitch and YouTube.
Another element to consider is the change to the format. Gone are the days of nine or 10-team round robin, gone in favor of a shorter, arguably cleaner group stage and playoff setup. Viewership is still split across four streams but is much more consumable. “Dead rubber” matches are also reduced by the changed format.
The quality of the production also plays a part. A myriad of issues plagued TI 2022 with fans tuning out early, unwilling to watch the rest of the event. Fortunately, 2023 thus far has been clean of any glaring production faults, meaning a more consistent and enjoyable broadcast across the board.
The playoff weekend is fast approaching, with the top eight securing their spots in next week’s main finals. Time will tell whether TI 2023 has the legs to take on the rest of last year’s event—over 1.7 million watched Tundra take down Team Spirit to win TI 11, with the event averaging 553,000 viewers across the month.
Early signs here are strong, but TI 12 may need a great storyline or two to get over the line.
