Data analytics firm Stream Hatchet has released its Q2 2026 Live-Streaming Trends Report, revealing that TikTok Live captured 50.9% of the global live-streaming market during the second quarter of 2026.

Driven by a surge in mobile-first viewing, the platform generated 8.9 billion hours watched, outperforming all traditional legacy platforms combined to shift how global audiences consume live digital entertainment and esports tournament broadcasts.

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TikTok Live’s viewership grew by 3.9% quarter-on-quarter to achieve its market majority, whereas traditional legacy streaming services generated a combined 8.5 billion hours. This migration towards vertical, mobile-tailored broadcasts has already prompted strategic industry moves, including a partnership between ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) and TikTok to deliver vertical esports broadcasts, custom overlay features, and co-streaming initiatives directly on the app.

In competitive gaming, Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) dethroned League of Legends as the quarter’s most-watched esports title as per official esports tournaments tracked by Stream Hatchet. Counter-Strike accumulated 209 million tournament hours watched, driven by flagship events such as Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Cologne, which reached a peak concurrent audience of 2.7 million viewers. In comparison, League of Legends registered 166 million hours watched, with a peak concurrent viewership of 2.2 million recorded during LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea) rounds 1–2.

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Behind the top two contenders, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang placed third with 119 million hours watched, peaking at 2.9 million viewers during MPL Indonesia Season 17. The Q2 rankings demonstrated a near-total dominance by MOBAs and tactical shooters across the top esports slots, with Rocket League standing as the sole exception.

Across all tracked platforms, total global live-streaming watch time reached 17.5 billion hours in Q2 2026. However, traditional core platforms experienced a 6% year-on-year decline, dropping to 8.6 billion hours. Twitch retained second place overall with 4.5 billion hours watched (a 25.9% market share), while YouTube Gaming recorded a 19.3% quarter-on-quarter drop to 1.8 billion hours (a 10.3% market share). Detailed creator rankings and event metrics are available in the complete Stream Hatchet report.

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