The global esports landscape in 2025 was shaped by three familiar giants, League of Legends, Counter-Strike and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. When viewership across all major tournaments and platforms is combined, the results paint a clear picture of where fans spent their time this year.
According to aggregated livestream data published by Esports Charts, the most-watched esports teams of 2025 once again came from these dominant ecosystems. PC, console and mobile titles all sit side by side in the same rankings, creating a far tougher comparison than game-specific lists. Battle royale titles and Chinese streaming platforms were excluded from the data.
While the top spot remained unchanged, the rest of the leaderboard saw noticeable movement, especially from Counter-Strike, which matched League of Legends with four teams inside the top 10 for the first time in years.
Korean League of Legends teams set the pace
For the fourth year running, T1 finished 2025 as the most-watched esports team in the world. The Korean organisation generated just over 196 million hours watched, outperforming second place by roughly 65 percent.
What makes T1’s dominance even more remarkable is how uneven their domestic season was. In the LCK regular season, fourth place was their highest finish. Once again though, T1 delivered when it mattered most. At the League of Legends World Championship, they powered through the tournament from its earliest stage and secured a third consecutive Worlds title, cementing their reputation as the ultimate big-match team.
Image Credit: Riot Games
Behind them, Korean League of Legends remained heavily represented. Gen.G claimed second place overall after another highly consistent year, winning the LCK Season, the Mid-Season Invitational and the Esports World Cup. Their run ended in familiar fashion at Worlds, falling to T1 in the semifinals.
Further down the list, Hanwha Life Esports placed sixth after a fast start to the year that included lifting the LCK Cup 2025 and winning their first international title at the First Stand Tournament. KT Rolster rounded out the Korean contingent in seventh, boosted by a surprise run to the Worlds grand final that significantly lifted their overall viewership.
ONIC overtake RRQ in Mobile Legends viewership
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang once again proved its global pulling power, especially in Southeast Asia. Two Indonesian teams finished inside the top four overall, underlining Indonesia’s status as the core market for MLBB esports, where major events regularly attract millions of concurrent viewers.
The highest-ranked MLBB team of 2025 was ONIC Esports, who finished third overall. ONIC enjoyed a flawless domestic year, winning both MPL Indonesia Season 15 and Season 16. Internationally, they remained competitive, placing fourth at the MLBB Mid Season Cup 2025 and reaching the later stages of several Snapdragon-sponsored events.
Image Credit: MOONTON
In a rare shift at the top of the MLBB scene, RRQ Hoshi finished just behind ONIC in fourth place. Despite remaining one of the most recognisable brands in mobile esports, RRQ struggled to turn popularity into trophies. Their strongest results came early in the year with runner-up finishes at MPL Indonesia Season 15 and the ESL Snapdragon Pro Series: Mobile Masters 2025.
The second half of the season was tougher. RRQ placed 5th to 8th at the MLBB Mid Season Cup and failed to reach the playoffs in MPL Indonesia Season 16. The dip in results ultimately saw them overtaken by their domestic rivals in total hours watched.
Counter-Strike sees a new hierarchy emerge
Counter-Strike enjoyed a major resurgence in the 2025 rankings, matching League of Legends with four teams inside the top 10. The highest-ranked CS team was Team Vitality, finishing fifth overall.
Vitality delivered one of the greatest seasons in Counter-Strike history. The team won back-to-back Majors, lifted nine tier-one trophies and consistently reached the latter stages of elite events. From a viewership perspective, it marked the strongest overall performance for a Counter-Strike team since NAVI’s peak in 2021.
Image Credit: HLTV.org
Positions eight to ten were filled by Team Spirit, MOUZ and Team Falcons, highlighting just how much depth and turnover the scene experienced this year.
Team Spirit enjoyed a solid season with several trophies and regular playoff appearances, but frequent roster changes disrupted their consistency. MOUZ, meanwhile, produced one of their strongest years in recent memory, stacking top-four finishes and looking increasingly well-balanced after the arrival of Lotan “Spinx” Giladi. Team Falcons remained one of the most closely watched projects in Counter-Strike, showing clear progress despite falling short of major titles.
Top 10 most-watched esports teams of 2025
Image Credit: EsportsCharts
What the rankings tell us about esports in 2025
The 2025 rankings underline a familiar truth. A handful of blockbuster titles continue to dominate global attention, with League of Legends, Counter-Strike and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang accounting for the vast majority of viewership. At the same time, the movement inside the top 10 shows that competitive success, roster stability and regional fanbases all play a critical role in shaping esports popularity.
As 2026 approaches, the gap at the very top remains steep, but the chasing pack is closer than ever.