The Stage 2 Masters Reykjavik was the first Valorant LAN event that offered us a spectacle with teams from all over the world. The tournament surpassed some of CS:GO's biggest majors in terms of viewership.
The Valorant Stage 2 Masters Reykjavik came to an end two weeks ago, and it was the biggest Valorant event we've seen so far. The tournament in Iceland broke all previous Valorant viewership records and peaked at over 1 million in the grand finals between Fnatic and Sentinels. This puts Valorant in a good position to finally compete with CS:GO. For real this time.
Valorant vs. CS:GO
Ever since the announcement of Valorant, Riot's tactical shooter was labeled the CS:GO, killer. A brand-new shooter that'll completely take over the world, and dethrone Counter-Strike as the tactical FPS. For almost a year, Valorant was struggling, even though many pro players from CS:GO were switching games. The esports scene had trouble kicking off due to the pandemic in 2020, as LAN events were deemed impossible. This meant that all Valorant tournaments in 2020 were online ones - even the finals of the Ignition Series and First Strike.
In the meantime, CS:GO was struggling with the same issues as all events went online. The Stage 2 Masters Reykjavik was a milestone for Valorant, as it broke the 1 million viewer mark, and Riot's shooter is now in the big leagues. Do you remember the last CS:GO Major that had over 1 million viewers? It was IEM Katowice 2020, and it barely scratched the mark with 1,002,132 viewers. This year's IEM Katowice 2021 gathered below 600,000 viewers. In the meantime, Valorant Masters Reykjavik had 1,085,527 viewers, making it one of the most viewed events for 2021 (so far).
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The good news is that it'll only get better for Valorant. The Stage 2 Masters was halfway through the season. One more Masters event remains, and at the end of the year, we'll witness the conclusion with Valorant Champions. We're willing to bet that both of these events will be shooting way past over 1 million viewers. Is it fair to say that Valorant is now a proper competitor to CS:GO? Yes. Should Valve be worried? It's hard to tell, but they should definitely be doing something to regain the lost interest.
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