A Surprisingly Quiet Year for Brawl Stars Esports

The Brawl Stars World Finals 2025 have wrapped up in Stockholm, but this year’s event looked very different from the explosive numbers the game enjoyed in 2024. According to Esports Charts, the tournament reached a peak of just over 211,000 viewers, a dramatic fall from last year’s record-breaking 1.1 million peak.

Image Credit: Esports Charts

For a title that once sat at the centre of Supercell’s esports push, the sudden drop has raised eyebrows across the community, with many fans and analysts calling it the lowest point the competitive scene has seen in years.

From Stadium Crowds to a Standalone Event

Last year’s World Finals were hosted in Helsinki alongside the Clash of Clans and Clash Royale World Finals, creating a massive shared audience. In contrast, the 2025 event took place as a standalone tournament at DreamHack Stockholm, and that change appears to have had a big impact on reach and visibility.

Despite running nearly twice as long as the 2024 broadcast, the average viewership sat at just 119,035 compared to last year’s 639,209. Even with more airtime, fewer people tuned in, which signals a deeper issue than scheduling alone.

Image Credit: Esports Chart

Crazy Raccoon Claim the Trophy

Inside the arena, at least, the action delivered. Japanese powerhouse Crazy Raccoon secured the championship after a dominant win over Italian squad HMBLE. The victory also served as payback for their 2024 defeat, and the team walked away with 40 percent of the 1 million dollar prize pool.

Both CR and HMBLE started their run in the same group, with CR winning the first showdown. Other favourites like SK Gaming and Totem Esports also made it through, setting the stage for what could have been a blockbuster playoff run.

But the knockout bracket didn’t quite live up to expectations. Six of the eight playoff series ended in clean 3-0 sweeps, leaving only two tightly contested 3-2 series. Unsurprisingly, those close matches ranked among the most-watched games of the entire tournament.

YouTube Surges Ahead While Twitch Falls Behind

One of the most surprising trends this year was a complete switch in preferred viewing platforms. YouTube dominated with 147,974 peak viewers, beating Twitch by more than 90,000 users. This is a major reversal from 2024, where Twitch sat comfortably on top with over 900,000 peak viewers.

English and Spanish broadcasts brought in around 50,000 viewers each, while Portuguese reached 39,959 and Japanese streams pulled 35,506, showing a wide spread of interest across regions despite the overall decline.

Why Did Viewership Fall So Hard?

Across community discussions, fans have been vocal about what they believe caused the downturn. Many longtime players argue that Brawl Stars’ focus on frequent collaborations, monetised events, and short-term content has slowly chipped away at the game’s identity. Others blame the lack of bug fixes and quality-of-life updates, claiming the competitive scene has been neglected for years.

There were also complaints about production issues. Streams lagged, matches were interrupted, and at one point officials resorted to showing a player’s iPad feed. These problems piled onto already cooled-off enthusiasm.

Some fans also brought up earlier esports controversies, including the disqualification of pro player Zhar during the March Monthly Finals, which many saw as mishandled and harmful to the scene.

A Wider Issue With Esports Engagement

The decline isn’t unique to Brawl Stars. Industry analysts have pointed out that esports viewership across several titles has plateaued, with oversaturation, changing audience behaviour, and competing entertainment platforms contributing to falling numbers.

Still, the drop in Brawl Stars is among the sharpest this year, especially compared to the hype the title carried in 2024.

Can the Competitive Scene Recover?

Supercell and tournament organisers will need to recalibrate if they want to recover the interest and energy the game once commanded. Fresh formats, better broadcast stability, direct community engagement, and a renewed focus on gameplay polish are all areas fans are calling for.

The Brawl Stars World Finals 2025 delivered strong gameplay from the top teams, but the audience simply wasn’t there. Whether the scene can bounce back in 2026 will depend on how Supercell adapts to a shifting esports landscape and addresses growing player concerns.

The post Brawl Stars World Finals 2025 Suffers Almost 80% Viewership Drop appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Mid Season Cup or MSC, part of this year’s Esports World Cup (EWC), has taken the spotlight, pulling in a staggering peak viewership of nearly 1.9 million.

Just short of 1.9 MILLION@teamrrqofficial vs @auroraggmlbb sets a new #MSC2025 peak!

LIVE @mlbbesports_en stats:
🔴 https://t.co/0Q7dwmEwRF pic.twitter.com/9o82XjUqI5

— Esports Charts 🇺🇦 (@EsportsCharts) July 27, 2025

Already a household name in South-East Asia, MLBB consistently pulls massive crowds online. Its global fanbase helped the Mid Season Cup outperform heavyweights like Valorant and League of Legends, making it the most-watched tournament at EWC so far.

Have You Heard About MLBB yet?

Even though MLBB is one of the most popular esports games in the world, it is still unknown in places like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. It’s rarely promoted through mainstream esports channels there, and as of now, only one pro player from the UK has earned prize money from the game, according to Esports Earnings.

In contrast, countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia dominate the competitive scene. Filipino teams, in particular, are EWC favourites, in terms of performance.

Originally launched in 2016 and published in China, MLBB now boasts a monthly player base between 45 to 75 million.

MLBB Viewership Leaves Others Behind

According to Esports Charts, MLBB’s Mid Season Cup peaked at 1,898,116 viewers, outperforming even League of Legends, which only reached 1.2 million, well below its 3.4 million peak just a week earlier at the MSI.

Top Matches from July 2025, Week 4

🥇 @teamrrqofficial vs @auroraggmlbb
🥈 @onic_esports vs @teamliquidph
🥉 @onic_esports vs VirtusProhttps://t.co/ZqGD6clqds pic.twitter.com/ERVbrBfAsl

— Esports Charts 🇺🇦 (@EsportsCharts) July 29, 2025

Meanwhile, A widespread boycott of the mainstream caused Valorant to suffer, and fans turned to creator watch parties to express their disapproval of Saudi Arabia’s role. Though still far below MLBB’s astounding viewership, other shows, including Honour of Kings, set records despite the controversy, attracting over 650k peak viewers.

Even the Women’s Scene is Soaring

Additionally, the EWC x MLBB Women’s Invitational was not overlooked. Its peak viewership of 467,988 surpassed even the official Valorant event, demonstrating MLBB’s broad appeal.

MLBB Women’s Invitational 2025 at #EWC2025 peaked at 467.9K viewers!

Top Matches:
1. @GaiminGladiator vs @VitalityMLBB
2. @GaiminGladiator vs @TidalLegends
3. @VitalityMLBB vs @TeamLiquid

Full breakdown: https://t.co/5jKVwD6DnT pic.twitter.com/kgdmA18ed9

— Esports Charts 🇺🇦 (@EsportsCharts) July 30, 2025

Final Thoughts

More than merely remarkable, MLBB’s performance at the Esports World Cup is historic. With a devoted fan base and exciting weekly matchups, it’s obvious that MLBB is spearheading the mobile esports revolution, and the rest of the world may want to follow suit.

The post MLBB Steals the Show at the Esports World Cup With Almost 1.9 Million Views appeared first on Shane the Gamer.