VCT APAC Last Chance Qualifier Peaked at Over 170,000 Viewers

The Valorant Champions Tour’s (VCT) APAC (Asia Pacific) Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) has been a success with the event peaking at 179,397 viewers. Valorant’s popularity has surged in Southeast Asia, a predominantly mobile gaming market. Despite the game being a PC-only title, player reception in South East Asia (SEA) is very strong and the viewership numbers for the VCT APAC Last Chance Qualifier speak for themselves.

The region outperformed a large number of VCT events that have taken place this year and Riot Games’ heightened interest in the region proves that Southeast Asia might be a region on their radar for Valorant esports.

VCT 2021: APAC LCQ Clocked Nearly 3 Million Hours of Viewership

According to data from Escharts, the VCT APAC LCQ event saw players tuning in for 2,994,623 hours throughout the event and it maintained an average viewer count of over 54,000 throughout the event. The Full Sense vs Northeption matchup on Day 5 of the event saw over 100,000 viewers tuning in while the rematch between both teams peaked at nearly 180,000 viewers.

Riot Games’ interest in the Southeast Asian region has been noticeable since the game’s launch. The publisher hosted standalone First Strike events for Hong Kong and Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Following the announcement of the Valorant Champions Tour this year, Riot also included South East Asia as one of the competing regions under the APAC Last Chance Qualifier.

Earlier this year, Riot expressed its interest in SEA with large-scale expansion plans. Riot Games' General Manager (SEA and Taiwan), G. Justin Hulog revealed that Riot seeks to grow its studios in Singapore and Hong Kong as part of its expansion strategy in Southeast Asia. The publisher is also looking to hire country teams for the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

While League of Legends has not been as successful as its counterpart Dota 2 in Southeast Asia, there is strong interest in Valorant and Wild Rift and the publisher wants to capitalize on the fanbase it is creating for itself.