The League of Legends World Championship Qualifying Series has concluded, and it has garnered an impressive amount of viewership. In fact, the inaugural qualifier recorded three times the viewership of the LCS Summer Split peak, making it a resounding success.
The first match of the qualifier, which pitted LEC against LCS teams as a prelude to the 2023 Worlds Play-In, attracted a massive online audience despite its unfavorable timing for both European and North American viewers. Despite the early morning hours for European fans and the late evening start for North American fans, the match reached a peak concurrent viewership of 618,854, almost matching the viewership of the LEC Summer Split.
The high viewership can be attributed to the pre-Worlds hype as well as the rare EU vs. NA grudge match. Fans were eager to witness the clash between the two fourth-seeded teams, even though the series ended in a one-sided victory for BDS over Golden Guardians. This overwhelming response highlights the community’s dedication to all aspects of Worlds, but it also sheds light on the comparatively lower viewership of the LCS.
The recent NALeague season recorded an average viewership of just over 75,000, with a peak of around 224,000 during the grand final between Cloud9 and NRG. This is only a third of the viewership that the WQS game attracted. The decline in viewership across all major leagues during the 2023 Summer season can be attributed to various factors, such as Faker’s injury affecting the LCK and the LEC’s scheduling issues.
The LCS, in particular, suffered from a midweek timeslot instead of a weekend primetime broadcast, as Riot Games allocated weekends to the NA VALORANT Champions Tour. Many anticipated a similar drop in viewership for Worlds, especially after last year’s event saw a significant decrease in viewership during the group stage, despite setting a new concurrent record during the grand final.
By the end of this month, we will see if this trend continues for this year’s edition of the World Championship. The 2023 Worlds Play-In is set to begin today, starting with the match between Movistar R7 and PSG Talon, marking the start of the pinnacle tournament.
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Source: DOTESPORTS
