The BLAST R6 Six Invitational Breaks Records with Viewership

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege esports continues to surge as the BLAST R6 Six Invitational becomes the biggest R6 esports event in history, capping off a $3 million tournament with a record-setting final. The Grand Final, which took place on Feb. 25, saw w7m esports lift the trophy, becoming World Champions in front of their home crowd in Brazil.

The victory capped off a legendary season for w7m esports that saw them return to the Grand Finals for the second time in a row. The event was a culmination of a season that saw the team never off the podium in Rainbow Six tournaments and victorious in both the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen 2023 and BLAST R6 Major Atlanta 2023. The win cements w7m esports as one of the best competitive R6 teams in the world.

During the event, w7m’s Gustavo “HerdsZ” Herdina and Diego “Kheyze” Zanello achieved another incredible milestone, as they tied for the Rainbow Six Siege kill world record of 336. After a season where they rarely found themselves away from the finals of events, it’s an incredible, if not expected, milestone.

w7m win rainbow six invitational 2024 in sao paolo brazil
Image: Ubisoft/ItsKirillVision

For their opponents, fellow Brazilians and top Rainbow Six Siege team, FaZe Clan, it was a disappointing end to their own incredible season. That season saw them win both Brazilian leagues and consistently find themselves in the top three of Blast R6 events. 

But the event was perhaps most notable for its record-breaking statistics. The finals were the culmination of three ticketed days at São Paulo’s Ginásio do Ibirapuera, which had sold out, with a reported 9,000 fans in attendance. The Grand Final between w7m and FaZe Clan set a record for peak viewership, with over 521,000 viewers, surpassing the previous peak of the Six Invitational 2018, by more than 205,000 views, as per Esports Charts and Stream Charts.

As per Esports Charts, the broadcast generated around 13 million hours watched, which was only slightly less than the previous world championship in 2023. However, this was over a shorter air time. The Brazilian teams at the event filled the lists as the most-watched and most popular, with w7m esports, FaZe Clan, and Team Liquid all in the top five. Virtus.pro and G2 Esports were the only non-Brazilian line-ups in that list.

Besides the official broadcasts, it was reported that co-streams by Brazilian influencer Gaules, and R6 streamer Jynxzi helped push the viewership to new heights. 

Rainbow Six esports has reached new heights with its current season, in-part due to its massive popularity in the Americas. An all-Brazilian R6 Six Invitational final in São Paulo is an almost poetic conclusion to a season of what has become one of the country’s signature titles, perhaps only second to the likes of League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and mobile title Free Fire. 

Michael Hassall
Michael Hassall

Since: January 31, 2024

Michael has worked in the esports industry for five years after a brief career in marketing. A professional writer for almost a decade, and a lifelong gamer, writing about esports is his one true passion, when he’s not glued to a screen playing the games he writes about.

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