LCK sets stunning viewership record in T1 vs Gen.G Summer final

❘ Updated: 2023-08-20T11:53:11

Riot Games

The LCK cemented its status as one of the most popular regions in League of Legends esports as it set a new viewership record during the Summer final between T1 and Gen.G.

Held at the Daejeon Convention Center, the LCK Summer final had a peak of 1,528,729 online viewers, according to data firm Esports Charts, shattering the previous record, set during Gen.G’s 3-1 victory over T1 in the 2023 Spring final (1,463,312).

This time around, Gen.G required only three games to beat T1, leaving fans wondering how high the peak viewership would have been if the series had gone to four or five games.

League of Legends fans can’t seem to get enough of T1 vs Gen.G matches. The last four LCK Finals were contested by these two teams, with three of those matches setting new peak viewership records.

Despite setting a new record, the 2023 LCK Summer split was less popular than the previous split, losing 10% of hours watched and averaging 8% fewer viewers. This is partly explained by the wrist injury sustained by T1 star Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok, who was out of action for a month.

When Faker returned to the LCK stage, viewership figures immediately soared

During Faker’s spell on the sidelines, LCK viewership stagnated. As he returned for the final stages of the Split, fans immediately tuned back in, with four of T1’s playoff matches having over 1 million concurrent viewers. It was the first time in LCK history that more than two matches in a split cracked the 1 million concurrent viewer mark.

The LCK’s new viewership record comes just two months before South Korea hosts the 2023 World Championship. Last year’s Worlds events drew 5.1 million concurrent viewers, which remains the second-highest peak viewership in esports history, only surpassed by the Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore’s 5.4 million peak.

Highest viewership peaks in LCK history:

T1 vs Gen.G (LCK Summer 2023) – 1,528,729
T1 vs Gen.G (LCK Spring 2023) – 1,463,312
T1 vs KT Rolster (LCK Summer 2023) – 1,404,857
T1 vs Gen.G (LCK Spring 2022) – 1,374,155
T1 vs DK (LCK Summer 2021) – 1,315,849