Gentle Mates defeated Team Vitality 4-2 in the Grand Final of the RLCS 2026 Boston Major to claim the championship. And the all-French matchup delivered an audience to match. The event peaked at over 624,000 concurrent viewers, surpassing the previous all-time RLCS record by 33.3 percent and marking the first time in the franchise’s history that viewership crossed the half-million mark.
That previous benchmark—468K viewers at the RLCS 2022-23 World Championship—had stood for over two years. In an incredibly positive sign for Rocket League‘s growth in 2026, the Boston Major broke it not at a World Championship, but at the opening international stop of the season.
Previous viewership record broken during RLCS Boston Major quarterfinals
The scale of the event’s viewership was remarkable from start to finish. According to data from Esports Charts, the tournament averaged 270K viewers across its entire broadcast window of nearly 28 hours. That figure shows that beyond the high peaks, the event also carried sustained interest across matches. In total, the event accumulated 7.55 million hours watched, placing it third all-time in RLCS history by that metric, behind only the 2021-22 and 2022-23 World Championships—events that ran more than twice as long.
Top RLCS tournaments by hours watched
- RLCS 2021-22 World Championship—10.17M hours
- RLCS 2022-23 World Championship—9.51M hours
- RLCS 2026 Boston Major—7.55M hours
- RLCS 2024 World Championship—7.40M hours
- RLCS 2025 Major 1—4.90M hours
The record didn’t wait for the Grand Final either. The old all-time peak was broken as early as the quarterfinal clash between Karmine Corp and NRG (535K viewers), with numbers continuing to climb as the bracket narrowed.
French and Arabic language broadcasts drove viewership
Several factors converged to produce the historic figures. The RLCS’s expanded viewership rewards program played its role, offering fans incentives to stay tuned from the opening group stage matches through to the final seconds of the Grand Final—keeping baseline retention high throughout the weekend.
The co-streaming ecosystem was equally important, as is the case across esports in 2026. A strong lineup of creators streaming alongside the official channels significantly widened the event’s reach, drawing in audiences that might not have engaged through traditional broadcast alone. Regional language streams also made their mark, with both French and Arabic broadcasts each exceeding 100,000 peak concurrent viewers. But of course, it was all underpinned by a strong competitive storyline.
All-French finals between Team Vitality and Gentle Mates
Regional rivalries are often the most riveting storylines in esports, and this final was no different. European teams dominated the bracket, with French organizations Gentle Mates and Team Vitality emerging as the final two standing. Their Grand Final was an all-French showdown that captivated viewers across multiple regions—and it delivered, with Gentle Mates taking the series 4-2 to claim their first S-tier championship in two years.
Tournament MVP Nassim “nass” Bali was the standout performer, driving Gentle Mates through the most-watched stretch of the event. North America’s NRG provided the bracket’s most compelling underdog run, reaching the top four before falling short against the French contingent. Early exits for heavy favorites FURIA and Twisted Minds only underscored how high-stakes the current format has become.
Boston 2026 has set a clear standard. The combination of high-stakes competition, broadcast rewards, and a thriving co-streaming culture produced something RLCS had never seen before. All eyes now turn to the Paris Major in May, where the RLCS will look to build on what Boston started.
