s1mple Interest Dominates EWC CS2 LCQ Viewership Despite BC.Game Loss

Viewership data from the Esports World Cup Counter-Strike 2 Last Chance Qualifier shows that viewers were highly engaged with Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev’s BC.Game roster during the qualifier.

Data from viewership aggregator Esports Charts shows that BC.Game’s match with 100 Thieves attracted 337,421, far outperforming other matchups in the event and attracting more viewers than the Grand Finals of several main events so far at EWC 2026.

BC.Game’s group stage contest against Basement Boys was the second most-viewed series of the event, with Liquid’s elimination at the hands of 1win also breaking the 100,000 viewer mark.

100 Thieves and BC.Game face diverging VRS paths after EWC LCQ

The interest spiked as s1mple’s BC.Game roster came within a round of making the qualification match, which would have moved the much-lauded ‘CS:GOAT’ to within one series of returning to Tier 1 action.

In the end, BC.Game were unable to convert Nuke, the second map of the series, as 100T IGL Jack “Gizmy” von Spreckelsen delivered a miraculous 1v3 to keep 100T in contention before 100T cleanly swept overtime to level the series.

Eventually falling 13-7, 12-16, 11-13 in a thrilling contest, BC.Game’s loss was 100T’s gain as the roster went on to win their qualification over 1win and make the main event.

The result was diverging paths for the rosters both in the immediate and medium term, with the result giving 100T a chance to catapult their VRS ranking by delivering in the main event.

However, while BC.Game fans are evidently keen to see s1mple return to Tier 1 action, the Ukrainian AWPer will be made to wait after their EWC exit, with their resulting VRS standing precluding any invites for the foreseeable future.

Instead, the new-look BC.Game, with the MongolZ duo of Azbayar ‘Senzu’ Munkhbold and Ayush ‘mzinho’ Batbold, IGLed by Astralis legend Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif, will have to grind out lower competition for the moment.

A similar fate awaits Liquid, Fnatic, NRG, and Heroic after their own failures to make it through the qualification stage. Fnatic especially will be licking their wounds, falling at the final hurdle to K27, preventing them from having the chance to break out of the Tier 2 grind.

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