On Friday, 15 January, MIBR announced its new line-ups, including a female CS team.
Later that day, the new MIBR Fe team played their first match in the Brazilian WESG LATAM Closed Qualifier against Severe Ladies. The match broadcast drew more than 2,800 viewers on average with a peak of almost 4,600 viewers. How does this number compare to other events and teams?
Let’s look at the numbers for a couple of popular teams: FURIA Fe and XSET.
FURIA Fe played in the same Closed Qualifier and their match was also streamed. That match drew an average of 136 viewers with a peak of 232 viewers.
XSET, then playing as independent Team Originem, had its ESEA matches broadcasted. During its most-viewed match during Season 35, the stream drew an average of 125 viewers with a peak of 171 viewers.
Now, let’s take a look at the numbers for a couple of high-profile events: Gamers Club Masters Feminina II and DreamHack Showdown Winter.
Masters Feminina was the most prestigious online tournament series in Latin America in 2020. The broadcast of the final in December drew an average of 3,753 viewers with a peak of 5,002 viewers.
DreamHack Showdown was the most prestigious online tournament series in Europe and North America in 2020. The broadcast of the finals day (for both EU and NA) drew an average of 3,116 viewers with a peak of 5,937 viewers.
Of course it’s still early days, but the involvement of a giant organisation like MIBR seemed to boost viewership numbers. Let’s hope that the team’s success and MIBR’s support will continue to drive more viewers to female CS!