In 2023, women’s esports tournaments generated 28 million hours of survey time, an almost 15% increase from the previous year. Top online viewership surged much further, soaring from 392.4K to 1.37M Pinnacle Viewers. Another record was set during the grand finals of the 32nd SEA Games Women’s Tournament for Portable Legends: Bang, featuring the national teams of Indonesia and the Philippines.
The most-watched discipline in women’s esports for 2023 was the shooter game Valorant. Its tournaments all in all accumulated 16.3M Hours Watched, denoting a 48% increase contrasted with 2022. Portable Legends: Bang secured the second spot, amassing 9M Hours Watched (+22% contrasted with 2022). Consolidated, Valorant and Versatile Legends represented more than 90% of the complete survey hours in women’s esports for 2023. The leftover share was predominantly attributed to tournaments of Counter-Strike, Class of Legends, and Zenith Legends. It’s actually significant that PUBG Portable, which was among the main 3 most-watched disciplines in women’s esports in 2022, did not actually make it into the best 5 this time.
The 32nd SEA Games Women’s Tournament not just set another pinnacle online record in women’s esports yet additionally arose as the most-seen women’s tournament in 2023. Its broadcasts generated 6.36M Hours Watched, representing more than 70% of all women’s esports in Portable Legends during that period.
The VCT 2023: Huge advantages Championship followed closely in second spot, amassing 5.6M Hours Watched. It also secured the second spot for top online viewership among women’s tournaments in 2023.
The expansive viewership for the women’s Valorant scene was facilitated by the Distinct advantages series of leagues held across various countries and regions (such as EMEA, North America, Brazil, Japan, and so on.). In the interim, albeit the women’s Versatile Legends scene didn’t have as many leagues, it showcased admirable viewership statistics through several significant international tournaments. Aside from the 32nd SEA Games, vital events incorporate the MLBB Women’s Invitational 2023 and Lady Star Association Season 6.
Distribution of Prize Pool for Female Esports Tournaments in 2023
In 2023, women’s esports tournaments granted more than $2.2 million in prize money, with over portion of it being distributed in Valorant tournaments. Around 23% went to Counter-Strike events, while another 10% was attributed to Fortnite. Interestingly, despite significant viewership, women’s Portable Legends tournaments had almost no award money distribution, subsequently not making it into the main 5. It’s quite significant that the 32nd SEA Games Women’s Tournament was essential for the Southeast Asian Games sports series, so the winners got the same medals as participants in traditional sports competitions.
With respect to distribution by regions which hosted tournaments, the most money was granted in South America, representing 35.6% of the complete sum. This is to a great extent because of Brazil, considering that the VCT 2023: Major advantages Championship with a $500,000 prize pool occurred there. North America and Europe represented 26.8% and 25% of prize money, respectively, and tournaments in Asia only comprised 9% of the complete award pool in all women’s esports for 2023. There’s an unmistakable irregularity between prize money and crowd inclusion in Southeast Asia, where there’s a significant fan base for women’s esports, yet significant award pools are scarce in women’s tournaments.
The Most Popular Languages and Platforms in Female Esports in 2023
In 2023, Jerk arose as the most popular platform for streaming women’s esports, catching around 56% of the all out review hours across all tournament broadcasts. YouTube streams represented 34.1%, while the excess viewership was split between platforms like NimoTV, Trovo, Kick, and other streaming services.
The most predominant language for women’s esports broadcasts in 2023 was English, accumulating 8.2M Hours Watched or 29% of absolute watch time for the year. Indonesian and Portuguese also made it into the best three. Quite significant contrasted with the previous year, the volume of English broadcasts increased by 48%, and Indonesian streams saw a decay of around 25% (in 2022, Indonesian was the most popular language in women’s esports).
Esports Charts hopes that in 2024, female esports tournaments will keep a positive pattern in expanding their crowd, and other popular esports disciplines will follow the lead of Valorant and Portable Legends: Bang.
