PUBG continues viewership surge at 2025 Esports World Cup

The PUBG showcase at the 2025 Esports World Cup firmly established itself as one of the standout spectacles of the Northern Hemisphere summer. With the PUBG Esports World Cup concluding on August 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the five-day tournament delivered not only nail-biting competition but also unprecedented levels of audience engagement, cementing PUBG’s status as a major esports draw.

Twisted Minds crowned champions

A field of 24 of the world’s best squads descended on Riyadh to compete for a share of the US$2 million prize pool. In the end, it was home favorites Twisted Minds who clinched the trophy, edging out South Korea’s Gen.G by just seven points. Team Falcons delighted local fans with a third-place finish, only three points shy of the runner-up spot. The podium sweep for the two Saudi-backed teams were met with roaring approval from a packed and passionate crowd.

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Viewership records shattered

While the action on the battleground was fierce, the tournament’s biggest storyline came off the server: its record-breaking audience. The PUBG Esports World Cup 2025 outperformed last year’s inaugural edition across every metric:

• Peak viewership soared by 145%, as more fans tuned in at once to watch the action.
• Total watch time nearly doubled, with 2.5 million hours watched over an airtime of 26 hours.
• Average viewership surged 89% year-over-year, with 98,158 average viewers, making it one of the most consistently watched PUBG tournaments of 2025.

The numbers placed the tournament as the fourth most popular PUBG event of the year and inside the top three by watch time, trailing only the record-smashing 2025 PUBG Nations Cup.

Language growth & regional strength

The rise in engagement was fueled in large part by the performance of local heroes. The podium finishes for Twisted Minds and Team Falcons drove Arabic-language streams to new heights, with watch time jumping tenfold and peak concurrent viewers rising 16.5% compared to 2024.

Other key markets also spiked. Korean PUBG fans tuned in heavily thanks to top-five finishes from Gen.G and DN Freecs, while Thai audiences rallied behind Theerathon Five, who claimed an impressive 12th-place finish in just their second year at the top level. English-language streams also benefited from the expanded global coverage, with more than 100 channels broadcasting the event compared to 77 last year.

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Shaking up the Club Championship

Beyond the spectacle, the results had major implications for the ongoing Esports World Cup Club Championship. Team Falcons reclaimed the overall lead with their podium finish, moving 500 points ahead of Team Liquid in the race for back-to-back titles. Twisted Minds collected the full 1,000 points on offer, surging into a share of fourth with Virtus.pro, while Gen.G’s 750 points solidified their hold on sixth.

With only a handful of events left—Street Fighter 6, CrossFire, and Counter-Strike—the battle for the Club Championship remains wide open. But thanks to the PUBG event’s success, both on the leaderboard and in viewership, the Middle East have stamped their mark on this year’s Esports World Cup.