Asutin Major MRQ's viewership numbers decline
As per an Esports Charts report, the viewership numbers for the MRQs (Major Regional Qualifiers) leading up to the BLAST.tv Austin 2025 Major has left a lot to be desired when compared with it's predecessor, The Perfect World Shanghai 2024 Major.
BLAST.tv Austin 2025 Major's most talked about topic was the qualifiers. This was the first major with the new MRQ system which replaced the previously existing RMRs. These RMRs were played on LAN about a month prior to the Major in the same city or country as the Major venue.
Over 160 channels broadcasted the MRQs bringing in over 4,000,000 watch hours. The peak viewers number of 169,974 was recorded during Astralis's match against B8 in the European MRQ. On the Asian side of things this how the MRQs fared in terms of viewership:
Regional qualifier
China MRQ
Oceania MRQ
Asia MRQ
Peak viewers
8,943
7,420
7,370
Peak match
TYLOO vs Rare Atom
Rooster vs ex-TALON
Eruption vs Chinggis Warriors
In the RMRs, all teams would have to go through the qualifiers to make it to the Major, including the teams at the top of the rankings. With the new system, teams like Vitality, Spirit, The MongolZ and other top ranked teams are handed out direct invites to the Major. These MRQs were delegated to a lot of studios instead of a unified organizer, further decreasing viewers appeal.
Prior to the introduction of these MRQs, RMRs were on the rise in terms of viewership numbers, with each one giving tough competition or even surpassing it's predecessor.
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