In League of Legends, a single team significantly drives viewership. When these five iconic LoL stars step onto the stage, the audience count shoots for the moon.
The LCS has seen a dwindling viewership throughout the last few years. Notably, during the recent Summer Split, the LEC also observed a sharp drop, especially during the Summer Split finals. Such trends have League of Legends esports fans worried. However, there's one team that continues to shine as a ray of hope for many.
Fans want to see story lines, comebacks and star players when they tune in to a game of professional League of Legends. Well, it seems that one team is able to offer all of this and they've been carrying the viewership throughout the year. Let's hope they make it to Worlds then, eh?
LoL: T1 Carries League of Legends Viewership – The Faker Effect?
One team is the most viewed team in all of League of Legends and that is none other than the 3-time World Champions T1. In the LCK this team has topped viewership throughout the Summer Split, with even regular season best-of-three's gaining higher viewership than some playoff games.
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The most viewed game was, of course, the LCK Summer Finals between T1 and Gen.G which managed to have a peak of over 1.5 million viewers according to esports charts.
Not only was the final able to crack the viewership numbers in the millions, but the two playoff matches between T1 and kt Rolster managed a whopping 1.4 million peak viewers and 1.2 million peak viewers.
Of course, T1 vs. kt Rolster will have high viewership, thanks to the long-lasting Telecom Wars that have taken place throughout Korean esports history. T1 and Gen.G is another storied rivalry in the league.
The other most viewed games were T1 vs Dplus KIA on the second day of playoffs. Previously, there had even been regular season games which peaked in viewership over other LCK playoff matches, due to the shere popularity of T1 and their star-studded roster led by LoL legend Faker.
League of Legends: T1 Aren't Just Viewership Kings Domestically
It isn't just in the LCK that T1 dominates the viewership numbers. At the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational four of the five most viewed games featured T1, with their upper-bracket finals against the eventual MSI champions, JD Gaming, garnered almost 2.3 million peak viewers.
The only match which didn't involve T1 during MSI 2023 was BiliBili Gaming vs Gen.G.
Even during the 2022 League of Legends World Championship, three of T1's matches were in the top five. The grand finals garnered around 5.1 million peak viewers while their semi-finals against JDG raked in around 2.2 million peak viewers.
It's insane how one team is able to carry viewership like this, but with how long mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok has been playing and at such a high level, it is no surprise that viewers are interested in him and the team he plays for.
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Now the only question remains whether T1 is able to make it to Worlds 2023 to carry viewership once more.