If the Sidemen Charity Match 2023 could not whet your appetite for football and entertainment as a package, fret not, as Gerard Pique's Kings League 2023 Split 3 and Queens League 2023 Split 2 got off to rousing starts on September 10 and September 9, respectively. For those unaware, these leagues' goal is to revolutionize modern football by tweaking its rules and introducing new ones to make it more exciting for viewers, with most teams owned by prominent streamers and celebrities.
The men's side has xBuyer Team as the defending champion, while the inaugural women's league was won by rivers_gg's PIO FC. Some new regulations in these tournaments include each match having two parts of 20 minutes, unlimited substitutions, tie-breaker penalty shootouts, handballs for throw-ins, and secret weapons (players).
It has to be remembered both leagues' drafts for the upcoming season drew over 335K PV. What helped was the presence of top influencers who are also club presidents and ambassadors, including ibai, DjMaRiO, juansguarnizo, and Perxitaa.
Kings League 2023 Split 3 Day 1 viewership recap
The Kings League 2023 Split 3 garnered 1.5M Hours Watched, 338K Peak Viewers, and 230K Average Viewers over an airtime of seven hours on Week 1. These numbers are not as high as the first-day output of the initial two splits, but that is bound to happen as viewers get more and more used to the concept and its players, leading to higher familiarity and lesser mystique.
As for the headline results from the round, Spanish Twitch superstar ibai's side Porcinos FC beat Los Troncos FC 3:2, while fellow platform megastar rivers_gg's team PIO FC lost 3:6 to Jijantes FC. After one gameweek, topping Group A is Jijantes FC, owned by famous Spanish sports journalist and content creator Gerard Romero, while Group B has Sergio Aguero's Kunisports at the summit.
Ibai was the most popular individual channel on Day 1 of the proceedings with 87K PV, which far surpassed his watch time in a unique statistical quirk. The second-most favored handle was renowned Hispanic YouTuber and Ultimate Mostoles owner DjMaRiiO, who hit 73K PV, followed by rivers_gg, who claimed 57K PV.
Matches happen every weekend in both these leagues, and the next matchday is slated for September 17. At the end of this stage, the top four from each group will progress to the Playoffs Quarterfinals.
Queens League 2023 Split 2 Day 1 viewership recap
The Queens League 2023 Split 2 notched 625K HW, 167K PV, and 92K AV over seven hours of airtime. These were, again, falls in all metrics compared to the first split, but they are still healthy enough to point to a sustainable model for the women.
As for the headline-making results from Week 1, Mayichi's 1K FC thumped Rayo de Barcelona (owned by Spursito) 5:1 while holders PIO FC got their defense off to a flyer, hammering Espe's Aniquiladoras FC 6:1. Hence, the former's winner tops Group B and the latter's victor is top of Group A. The next gameweek will commence on September 16.
The most popular individual content creator covering the women's side was rivers_gg, who registered 55K PV thanks to her side's thumping win. Second and third were ibai (36K PV) and thegrefg (31K PV), who saw women's rosters of their respective sides, Porcinos FC and Saiyans FC, winning their first matches, with the latter doing so on penalties.
