BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 Breaks All Records as Most Watched Counter-Strike Tournament Ever

The Counter-Strike community just reached an epic milestone, and the fans around the globe made it happen. The BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 is now officially the most-viewed Counter-Strike event in history, totaling more than 76 million hours watched throughout its entirety.

What's even more astonishing is that this record was shattered just as the grand finals began, which saw Team Vitality face off against The Mongolz in an intense showdown. The anticipation for the tournament had already reached fever pitch for weeks, and by the time it reached the finals, the audience was sky-high.

BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 Sets Record as Most Watched CS Tournament Ever

The last record holder, PGL Major Stockholm 2021, boasted an incredible 71.2 million hours viewed, which at the time looked almost impossible to surpass. But Austin Major didn't just surpass it, far surpass it.

Now, keep in mind that the figure doesn't even account for viewers on Chinese platforms or built-in streams on Steam, which don't receive data easily and are difficult to measure because they use different methods to count viewers. So, the actual figure could be higher than officially reported.

So why did this tournament blow up like this? A few reasons, probably. First off, the location—Austin brought in a lively crowd that added so much energy to the games. Then there’s the production value—BLAST knows how to put on a good show, from the casters to the camera work to the stage setups. And most importantly, the matches were just really good. A great mix of underdog stories, clutch plays, and big rivalries kept fans glued to their screens.

The event lasted around 129 hours, which is a pretty long run time, but clearly, fans weren’t bored for a second.

With this achievement, BLAST has set a new gold standard in esports tournaments. It also indicates how much power the Counter-Strike community still holds, even after decades.  By the way, it was just yesterday when it was reported that Valorant Masters Toronto witnessed 2.8 million viewers. The bar has been set high, and now everyone's thinking any other tournament match this one anytime soon? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.