Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel has claimed the Overwatch League inflated its viewership numbers by viewbotting, and that it contributed to his resolution to go away skilled play.
xQc was reacting to a 2019 video wherein Mark Cuban stated the Overwatch League had reached a concurrent viewership peak of 300,000. Nevertheless, Lengyel pushed again on these figures and alleged the numbers have been artificially boosted – implying the true viewership was nearer to 14,000.
“These numbers have been so botted,” xQc stated. “These numbers have been so botted, it’s comical. Brother, for a number of years, they tried to cover the numbers.”Article continues after advert
xQc claims OWL numbers have been inflated
Increasing on his claims, xQc stated he had heard completely different figures from a supply through the league’s early testing section on Main League Gaming.
“They ran a check on MLG,” he stated. “For the preseason, they stated, ‘we’re going to run Overwatch League on MLG TV.’ And I had an insider whistleblower that was speaking to me. I’m not going to say who. And he instructed me the numbers of how many individuals have been really watching. And I went, ‘Yo!?’”Article continues after adArticle continues after advert
xQc didn’t present proof for the declare and didn’t title the supply he referenced.
xQc reveals he deliberate his exit from Overwatch esports after discovering their 300k viewers on Twitch was solely 14K actual viewers 👀😳 pic.twitter.com/PEJDe9h7Qz— xQc Each day (@xQc_dailyy) April 30, 2026
The previous Overwatch professional additionally stated the state of affairs influenced how he considered his personal future within the league, notably when balancing streaming with skilled play.
“I had already signed the contracts to play within the Overwatch League. Once I heard that, I used to be like… I’m already beginning to manage my exit,” he stated. “How am I going to market myself as a 10k Andy to a 14k Andy stream?”Article continues after advert
He added that restrictions in OWL contracts restricted his skill to stream throughout official matches, which factored into his decision-making.
“Why would I take days off to follow? Go to the workplace, follow. Do scrims. Do matches. I can’t stream, I can’t make movies, I can’t vlog. I wasn’t even allowed to stream when the video games have been stay,” he stated. “So why would I lose every little thing with nothing to realize? It’s simply concerning the alternate of worth.”Article continues after adArticle continues after advert
