In the third quarter of 2024, numerous leading esports titles held major Summer tournaments, with some disciplines wrapping up their seasons in grand finals. This period showcased some of the year’s most popular events across mobile gaming, MOBAs, and shooters. Esports Charts has compiled two top-ten rankings for Q3: one based on total watch time, and another on peak concurrent viewership.
Overall, the quarter’s standout events spanned five of the biggest esports titles, with mobile gaming continuing to surpass traditional PC esports. The remaining spots were dominated by popular shooters and MOBAs, which consistently attract huge audiences.
Most Watched Esports Events of Q3 2024
Once again, the Indonesian regional esports circuit for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (ML:BB) led the quarter in terms of viewership. The MPL Indonesia Season 14, which started in August and will finish in October, accumulated 71.19 million hours watched during Q3 and continues to gather millions more. By the event’s end, it may become one of the most-watched MPL events ever.
In the MOBA category, League of Legends followed as the next most-watched title, contributing two events to the rankings. Despite starting just a week before Q3 ended, the 2024 Worlds gathered 23.18 million hours watched, while the LCK Summer 2024 had more time to generate viewership, reflecting the strength of the Korean League of Legends audience.
Dota 2 was also a strong performer during Q3, with The International 2024 concluding in September. Although not one of the event’s top-performing years, it still became one of the most-watched events of the quarter. Additionally, the third-party Riyadh Masters 2024, part of the Esports World Cup 2024, ranked highly with 26.3 million hours watched.
EWC X MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024
The EWC X MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024, the first international ML:BB event outside of Asia, was another success, reaching millions of concurrent viewers at peak and securing a high position in the rankings.
In the shooter category, Valorant outshone Counter-Strike 2, with the VALORANT Champions 2024 event in August accumulating 46.9 million hours watched. Although it didn’t break series records, it surpassed smaller Counter-Strike events held during the same quarter.
For Counter-Strike, the ESL Pro League Season 20 was the most-watched event, outperforming IEM Cologne 2024. The EPL’s longer duration helped it generate significantly more watch time, and it also set a new peak viewership record for the series.
In the final spot, Arena of Glory Winter 2024 for Arena of Valor (AoV) brought in 15.7 million hours watched. This Vietnamese professional AoV circuit has grown in popularity, and 2024 has been its best-performing year yet.
Peak Concurrent Viewership in Q3 2024
In terms of peak concurrent viewership, the rankings remained similar. ML:BB led once more, with the Mid-Season Cup 2024 reaching 2.38 million peak viewers, a testament to its immense popularity in Southeast Asia.
League of Legends maintained a strong showing, with the LCK Regional Finals 2024 achieving 1.82 million peak viewers, outperforming even the first week of Worlds 2024. Meanwhile, Dota 2 continued to be a solid performer, though it lagged behind League of Legends.
Valorant again surpassed Counter-Strike, with its end-of-year event overshadowing the smaller Counter-Strike tournaments. Overall, Q3 saw mobile gaming dominate esports, with MOBAs and shooters remaining the most popular genres.
Lex Northbyte 
Adrian Kovacs