VCT EMEA 2025 Kicks Off with Strong Viewership

The Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2025 EMEA Kickoff has commenced on a high note, showcasing significant viewership growth and historic milestones in the competitive gaming scene.

Record-Breaking Viewership

The first two days of the VCT 2025 EMEA Kickoff have seen a peak viewership of 336,040 concurrent viewers, marking a substantial increase from the previous year. This surge in viewership is largely attributed to the highly anticipated debut of Ava “florescent” Eugene, the first Game Changers player to compete in the main VCT circuit.

florescent’s Historic Debut

florescent’s participation has been a major draw, attracting international attention and setting a new precedent for women in competitive Valorant. Her debut coincided with another significant event in esports: Imperial’s women’s Counter-Strike 2 team facing off against NAVI at the BLAST Premier Bounty Season 1.

Key Matches and Viewership Drivers

The matchup between Apeks and Gentle Mates emerged as the standout viewing attraction, surpassing high-profile contests involving established teams like NAVI, Karmine Corp, Team Liquid, KOI, GiantX, and BBL Esports. This game’s popularity was fueled by florescent’s VCT debut and Gentle Mates’ strong French fanbase.

Gentle Mates co-founder Lucas “Squeezie” Hauchard, with over 5.19 million followers on Twitch, contributed significantly to the viewership. His French-language co-stream drew more than 100,000 concurrent viewers, while English-language streams also attracted a similar number, resulting in the highest English-language viewership peak of the tournament so far.

Regional Viewership Trends

While Spanish viewership saw a decline due to the absence of KOI co-founder Ibai “Ibai” Llanos from co-streaming duties, increased engagement from Russian and Portuguese-speaking audiences helped maintain strong overall numbers. Compared to the previous year’s event, both average and peak viewership metrics have shown marked improvement.

Tournament Outlook

Looking ahead, the tournament promises more high-stakes matches. Team Vitality’s newly assembled roster, featuring Felipe “Less” de Loyola Basso and Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, will face Karmine Corp. Meanwhile, the 2024 Champions runner-up Team Heretics is set to challenge Gentle Mates. Despite their viewership success, Apeks finds themselves in a precarious position in the lower bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

Impact of Content Creators

The role of popular content creators in boosting viewership cannot be overstated. Co-streams by influential figures like Squeezie and Karmine Corp’s founder Kamil “Kamet0” Kebir have been instrumental in attracting large audiences. Kebir’s stream alone drew over 60,000 French-speaking viewers for the Karmine Corp vs. NAVI matchup.

Despite these regional variations, the overall trend in the EMEA region suggests a growing interest in Valorant competitive gaming. As the tournament progresses, it will be interesting to see how these numbers evolve and whether other regions can follow the EMEA’s lead in terms of viewership growth.

Conclusion

The VCT 2025 EMEA Kickoff has set a strong foundation for the year’s competitive Valorant scene, driven by historic debuts, engaging matchups, and the active involvement of content creators. As the tournament continues, fans can expect more thrilling matches and potentially new records in viewership.