The League of Legends Championship Series Summer Split drew the highest number of viewers since 2016, according to Riot Games.
Despite some esports faltering because of the recent Covid -19 pandemic, the LCS broadcasts have triumphed. Nearly 35 million hours have been watched in total. This was a 72% increase from 2019.
There was an average minute audience of nearly 485,000 for the summer finals. This is an increase of 25% from 2019.
The peak viewership of the LCS Summer Split, including both the regular season and the postseason, reached 551,679. According to Riot, this was in increase of 12.4%
We should expect to see this growth continue when the Lol World Championship begins on Friday the 25th of September.
In a press release, Riot Games wrote that:
“The LCS’s new double-elimination Summer Playoffs format and adjustment to Worlds qualification led to multiple edge-of-our-seat moments with some of the best displays of talent and determination our league has seen,”.
The new, more inclusive format of the Summer Split has expanded the viewer base of the Championship series and the nature of the playoffs has garnered a lot more interest in the betting scene around League of Legends. Will the format change affect LoL Worlds odds?
The league’s growth can be seen as a natural extension of the increased interest in esports but Riot Games have made a concerted effort to boost the viewership of their competitions, not many people would be interested in the losers bracket of the LCS but the inclusion of the term playoffs has increased the drama and focus of the games.
The top three US teams after the end of the summer playoffs are Team SoloMid, FlyQuest, and Team Liquid. Time will tell how the summer playoffs have affected LoL Worlds predictions.
Featured Image Credits: Riot Games
