Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice, one of the most-known Counter-Strike esports events of the year, has recorded a solid viewership increase when compared to its 2023 edition.
IEM Katowice peaked at around 972,000 peak viewers, which is an increase of more than 200,000 when compared to last year’s 726,000 figure. This makes it the fourth most-watched Katowice event ever, according to esports data platform Esports Charts.
The event’s peak viewership increased by around 25% when compared to last year. Moreover, IEM Katowice has shown increases in other viewership metrics across the board. Average viewership grew from around 235,000 (2023) to 287,000, with around 15 hours less of air time. Overall, over 1m more hours of programming were watched in 2024.
The event saw Team Spirit, a well-known Russian esports organisation (now based in Serbia), win the event after beating FaZe Clan in the grand final. The top four also included Team Falcons and MOUZ, while notable organisations such as G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, Heroic, and Team Vitality all placed below sixth place. The grand final between FaZe and Team Spirit was the most-watched match of the tournament.
Interestingly, only one match in the entire playoffs saw a tiebreaker, with four matches ending in either 2:0 or 3:0 scores. The relatively dominant performances across the playoffs did not affect viewership, but it is interesting to note that ENCE, a team that was knocked out in the quarter-finals, saw more total hours watched than MOUZ and Falcons, both of which advanced to the semifinals.
The winner of IEM Katowice, Team Spirit, is a team that is interestingly not a part of the ESL partner programme. The organisation relocated its operations to Belgrade, Serbia after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and has competed from the European country ever since.
