Mercy mains come together to push Overwatch Contenders viewership sky-high
BlizzardOverwatch Contenders viewership had an excellent day on Twitch during the European Contenders final, and many think Mercy mains are to thank.
Overwatch 2 as an esport has been a tricky spot for years. The formation of the Overwatch League shifted the landscape dramatically, and in recent years, interest has been waning. That goes doubly for Contenders teams who are in a messy tier 2 system with no guarantee of pro-play.
With that has come shaky viewership numbers for the second division of professional Overwatch. To mitigate that, Blizzard has been trying to incentivize watchers by offering skins via Twitch drops.
This strategy really seemed to come to a head over the final of the Overwatch Contenders Summer Series: Europe final. During the series, which was a seven-map classic, a drop program was instigated that would give viewers a Contenders Mercy skin.
This strategy seems to have worked. While Contenders has seen a resurgence since its revival on Twitch this year, the viewership seemed to at least double most Contenders streams. The European finals peaked at 42,510 viewers (via SullyGnome). This is by far the highest viewership on Twitch since it returned in March of this year.
Mercy skins could boost the viewership of Tier 2 Overwatch
Since the final, members within the Overwatch esport scene have been asking if Blizzard could bring more Mercy-focused content around the game.
Florida Mayhem general manager Albert Yeh took to X/Twitter to joke about the power of the Mercy community. He said: “If Contenders just pumped out exclusive Mercy skins nonstop viewership would be incredible. 40k people watching for a mid default recolor is crazy”
Overwatch Contenders caster Cameron “Door” Fralick also added to the observation saying: “Look I’m not gonna complain about getting viewership but mercy players are another species”
Obviously, this is all in jest, but the “Mercy Mafia”, as the community has come to call it, is real. Overwatch 2 has many communities around maining certain heroes. However, none seem more devoted to their character than Mercy. If they have the chance to snag a free skin, you can be sure they will show up.