In our most recent quarterly Esports Tier List, we saw a few changes rock the system. One esport we were discussing in the featured discussion was in fact Rainbow Six Siege. Indeed, ever since the Six Invitational in February, the scene has been rather quiet and that has us wondering – what’s going on? Read on as we discuss the current state of the Rainbow Six Siege Majors!
Starting at the Six Invitational – A Respectable High Point
We’ll start our discussing by looking at last season, which concluded with the Six Invitational in May earlier this year. Accordingly, here we witnessed the scene show off an average performance in terms of viewership. Here’s how this year’s Six Invitational compared to previous years:
- 2019 Six Invitational – Peak Viewers 315,240
- 2020 Six Invitational – Peak Viewers 303,155
- 2021 Six Invitational – Peak Viewers 306,494
As you can see, although a great event, it took a step back from 2019. However, considering that the past season involved online competition only, it wasn’t too bad.
In this past season also, the merging of North America and Canada Leagues was also somewhat concerning. Anyways, let’s take a look at the events following the Invitational to see how this season has been going.
Checking the Stages Since – Regional Leagues Lacking?
So, how do we check out how the regional leagues have been performing? Well, heading back to online competition, everything actually went off to a great start with Stage 1 as you can see below:
- NAL 2021 Season Stage 1 – Peak Viewers 114,995, Average Viewers 67,452
- European League 2021 Stage 1 – Peak Viewers 121,925, Average Viewers 71,724
However, as the season has dragged on into Stage 2 and Stage 3 though, viewership has declined slghtly, though this could be expected due to to excitement levels lowering. Here are a few statistics so far from this season:
- Brasileriao 2021 Stage 3 – Peak Viewers 61,647, Average Viewers 29,867
- Copa Elite Six Season 2021: Stage 3 – Peak Viewers 45,078, Average Viewers 22,800
- APAC League 2021 Playoffs Stage 3 – Peak Viewers 32,549, Average Viewers 18,762
- European League 2021 Stage 3 – Peak Viewers 51,443, Average Viewers 34,962
- NAL 2021 Season Stage 3 – Peak Viewers 36,866, Average Viewers 24,778
Indeed, this season we’ve also witnessed the rise of popularity in Brazil and South America.
Overall, we’re satisfied with the regional league performances of Stage 1, but Stage 3 numbers need to be improved considering the prize on the line.
Rainbow Six Siege Majors – Missing the Mark
However, our main concern is considering the the seasonal majors. Unlike the Six Invitational, the Majors held so far at the end of each Stage have presented an underwhelming viewership:
- Six Mexico Major 2021 – Peak Viewers 137,245, Average Viewers 86,874
- Six Sweden Major 2021 – Peak Viewers 100,884, Average Viewers 64,056
For starts, the Mexico Major was only the 9th most viewed event ever, and Sweden was even worse. That’s honestly what triggered this featured discussion – why are the Majors not yielding viewerhip?
Perhaps it could be the timing of the event. Taking place with other events such as The International (Dota 2) and Worlds 2021 (League of Legends), it likely failed to stick out.
Otherwise, Rainbow Six Siege is also at a critical point where it’s beginning to age. This isn’t an issue if Ubisoft keeps pushing new content and keeps the competition fresh with new events. We look forward to the numbers for Majors to jump back up in time for our next Esports Tier List!
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