The Esports World Cup Was Watched for 237 Million Hours and Bahasa Malaysia Viewing Fell Forty Per Cent
Total watch time for the Riyadh event rose 29.5 per cent, but Southeast Asian language broadcasts went the other way after no regional team reached the Mobile Legends final.
The Esports World Cup was watched for more than 237 million hours this year across 25 competitions and qualifiers, a rise of 29.5 per cent on 2025, according to the full viewership recap published by Esports Charts this week. Average live viewership was 145,100, up 36.9 per cent.
The peak came during the playoffs of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup, at 2.89 million concurrent viewers, which is the number that matters most for Southeast Asia and also explains the region's problem. No Southeast Asian team reached the Mobile Legends grand final, and the language-level figures moved accordingly. Watch time in Bahasa Malaysia fell 40 per cent. Tagalog fell 14.2 per cent and Indonesian 8.8 per cent.
Everywhere else the numbers went up. Hindi-language streams grew 300 per cent. French grew 124 per cent, helped by Paris hosting and by French teams competing. YouTube took 42 per cent of hours watched and Twitch 30.2 per cent. Kick doubled its watch time year on year and CHZZK grew 40 per cent.
The event ran in Riyadh from 6 July to 23 August with a record total prize pool of $75m, across 25 competitions in 24 games, involving more than 2,000 players and around 200 clubs from over 100 countries. Fortnite and Trackmania were added this year, replacing StarCraft II and Rennsport.
The Club Championship, which awards cross-game points to organisations that compete across many titles, went to AG.AL International on 5,300 points and $7,000,000, ahead of Team Falcons on 4,600 and $5,000,000, Team Vitality on 3,300 and $4,000,000, Natus Vincere on 2,950 and $3,000,000 and Team Liquid on 2,700 and $2,000,000. It was decided on the final day by Gwendal "Gwen" Duparc's Trackmania win. Team Vitality led all clubs in watch time by more than 18.7 per cent.
The broader reading for this region is that Southeast Asian esports viewership is not a fixed audience but a following, and it follows teams rather than tournaments. A 40 per cent drop in one language over a festival that grew by nearly a third overall is not a decline in interest in esports. It is what happens when the local team goes out early.