IEM Rio 2026 became one of the most popular CS2 tournaments of the year

The recently concluded IEM Rio 2026 became one of the most successful Counter-Strike 2 tournaments of the year in terms of viewer interest. According to Esports Charts, the championship reached a peak of 1.12 million viewers, which placed it second among the most popular CS2 events of 2026 by that metric. Only IEM Krakow 2026 ranked higher.

The most-watched match of the tournament was the grand final between Vitality and Team Spirit. That series drew the largest audience and gave the event its record peak viewership. Among the other most popular matches of the championship were games involving FURIA, Falcons, and NAVI, further highlighting the strong audience interest in the tournament.

On average, IEM Rio 2026 broadcasts were watched by 446,000 viewers. Over the course of the event, the tournament was live for around 50 hours and generated a total of 22.6 million hours watched. These numbers confirm that the Brazilian Intel Extreme Masters stop was one of the key events of the first half of the season.

The tournament itself took place from April 13 to 19 in Rio de Janeiro with 16 teams participating. The prize pool totaled $300,000. Vitality won the championship after confidently defeating Team Spirit 3-0 in the final. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut was named the tournament’s best player.

ESIC handed MAUschine a lifetime ban after attacking an opponent at CAGGTUS Leipzig

As a result, IEM Rio 2026 not only ended with a dominant victory for Vitality, but also confirmed its status as one of the most notable tournaments of the season in terms of viewer interest.