Counter-Strike 2 maintains a substantial lead in flagship tournament viewership heading into late 2026, driven by deeper historical engagement, broader international formats with 32-team brackets, and concentrated audiences on Twitch across English, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese streams. IEM Cologne 2026 set an all-time CS2 record at roughly 2.75 million peak concurrent viewers and over 90 million hours watched, while VALORANT’s top 2026 events—including Masters London and Champions Shanghai—have peaked near or below 1.5 million and trailed in average viewers and total watch time despite more broadcast hours. S-tier data from early 2026 showed CS2 events generating nearly 205 million hours watched versus VALORANT’s 130 million. Trader pricing at 96.5% for “No” reflects this sustained gap and limited realistic pathways for VALORANT to overtake a CS2 Major peak before year-end, though factors like breakout regional storylines or format shifts could narrow it.