The IEM Katowice CS:GO tournament boasted a strong lineup of 24 participants and lasted nearly two weeks from Jan. 31 to Feb. 12. It culminated in G2 Esports claiming the championship title and cementing their position as the world’s No. 1 team in the worlds rankings.
However, despite all the excitement and compelling storylines, the contest suffered a significant decline in viewership compared to previous years. This begs the question: what caused this drop in TV ratings?
In this article, we will explore potential factors for the sudden decrease, a concern that should be on the radar of ESL, especially with the upcoming seventeenth edition of ESL Pro League. Additionally, for those interested in betting on the upcoming event, GGBET has already provided odds for the Group Stage and outright betting.
IEM Katowice 2024 vs. 2022 Statistics
Without any doubt, the most-hyped matchup of this year’s championship was the final between G2 and Heroic, which garnered 760,000 peak viewers. However, this marks a significant drop from the previous year’s grand final series between FaZe Clan and G2, which boasted 1,120,000 viewers – a decline of 36%.
Furthermore, the average viewership and hours watched for IEM Katowice 2024 also showed a decline. This year’s event had an average concurrent viewership of slightly over 235,000, resulting in approximately 23.5 million hours watched. In contrast, the 2022 season had an average viewership of 320,000 and ~29.9 million hours watched, despite having the same format.
Why No One Expected to See These Numbers?
Two factors were expected to contribute to an increase in viewership, making the 30% drop surprising, to say at least.
Explosive Growth of CS:GO
At present, CS:GO has experienced remarkable growth, boasting over 750,000 average concurrent players presently, a substantial increase from just 500,000 players one year ago. The shooter has become increasingly popular and is widely regarded as one of the best in its genre. Additionally, the competitive scene for CS:GO has been thriving, with over a dozen big events held annually. In comparison to most eSports, CS:GO is in a healthy state.
ESL’s New Streaming Strategy
In addition to Valve’s shooter growth, ESL’s decision to shift from exclusive streaming on Twitch, in partnership with DreamHack, to broadcasting its events on both Twitch and YouTube was expected to expand the audience for IEM Katowice. Despite this multi-platform broadcasting approach, however, the question remains: why then, do so few people watch its first $1,000,000 contest in 2024?
Possible Factors For This Sudden Viewership Drop
While there is no exact reason for the sudden drop in viewership at IEM Katowice 2024, there are several possible factors that could have contributed to it.
Fanbase Difference
First of all, the absence of certain popular teams such as FaZe Clan, who did not qualify for the playoffs, and the lack of Brazilian teams in the group stage. On the other hand, the grand final between G2 and Heroic may not have garnered as much attention as last year’s grand final between FaZe and G2 due to a difference in the fanbase.
Marketing Fail
Another factor that may have contributed to the decline in TV ratings is a failure in marketing the product properly. The organizers, such as ESL, can afford to offer million-dollar prize pools despite low viewership numbers, indicating the untapped potential of the game. By improving their marketing strategies and attracting more viewers, they could potentially attract more sponsorships and increase the overall numbers significantly.
Super Bowl 57
Finally, the scheduling of the grand final on Super Bowl Sunday may have led some NA fans to prioritize the football game over the CS:GO tournament.
Despite all these possible factors, it is crucial for top companies in the eSports industry to address this issue and find ways to attract more viewers. With top players like s1mple and m0NESY, there is no excuse for failing to showcase the best CS:GO action to a wider audience.
Obviously, in any shooter, this aspect is the most important. However, in CS, such skills should pay special attention. The shooting in the game is extremely complex, you need to get used to each weapon separately, so we will sign possible training for a certain type of gun below.
First, let’s talk about the types of shooting: One TAP or single shooting is used when firing from rifles at a long distance or with a small number of bullets. It is also recommended to shoot at some pistols (Desert Eagle, P250, USP-S) at a large and medium distances.
Activated by a single press on the shot key (by default the left mouse button). Burst Fire (shooting in small episodes) – works well with rifles and submachine guns at an average and long distances. A similar type of fire is extremely useful for beginners who did not have time to properly deal with the clamp patterns.
The advantages of such a method are in a small scatter and simple control, but a more experienced player who studied the mechanics of the spray will be able to defeat the player. Also, in a similar way, you can flash in Smokey, if there is a guess that the enemy is somewhere behind him. In order to conduct a shootout by Berst, it is necessary to click on the LKM and detain for a short time so that the weapon releases three or four cartridges.
Spray (fire in bursts) is the most necessary and applicable skill in the game. Need to quickly kill opponents at any distance. The farther, the harder it is to control the clamp, but this is necessary for practice and constant training. The sprays can be shot from any trunk, the issue of accuracy and expediency, however, the greatest need to use it is opened when firing with AK-47 M4A4, Galil AR and M4A1-S. As follows from the name in order to fire in bursts, you need to pinch the shot key. Now let’s talk about cards for training.
YPRAC BOT Arena Mapa from perhaps the most famous creator of cards for practice. It has several different modes from the destruction of bots to aimed fire along targets of various diameters. It can be used both for honing wants and clamping. After adding YPRAC BOT Arena to the workshop, it can be easily activated through the console by prescribing the MAP YPRAC_ARENA and pressing Enter.
