League of Legends
No, League of Legends is not launching a cryptocurrency right now, Riot confirmsMar 20, 2025 - PCGamesNLeague of Legends is a lot of things. At its foundation, it's an immensely popular MOBA. It's also, thanks to a plethora of multimedia spin-offs, a TV show in the form of Arcane; a life sim, thanks to Bandle Tale; and a platform game in Song of Nunu. Another arena that LoL briefly looked to have ventured into earlier today was branded cryptocurrency. But Riot now confirms to PCGamesN that this was actually the result of a hacked social media account. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: New League of Legends roguelike card mini-game released, and it's not Runeterra Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale? League of Legends Mythic shop March 2025 - what's on sale now? New League of Legends roguelike card mini-game released, and it's not RuneterraMar 19, 2025 - PCGamesNLeague of Legends has managed to stay relevant for more than 15 years now thanks, in part, to creator Riot Games' constant work to spin off characters and concepts from the MOBA into new game genres and other media. These have included comics, the animated Arcane TV series, and, of course, games like Ruined King, Teamfight Tactics, Bandle Tale, Song of Nunu, and Legends of Runeterra. And now, in a surprise announcement, League of Legends' client will include a non-Runeterra card battling mini-game in the vein of Inscryption or Balatro called The Demon's Hand. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale? League of Legends Mythic shop March 2025 - what's on sale now? LoL tier list patch 25.S1.5 - best League of Legends champions Riot walks back unpopular League of Legends changes: Hextech Chests are coming back, and the Blue Essence cost for new champions will be cut in halfFeb 26, 2025 - PC GamerRiot Games says recent changes to League of Legends' reward system "didn't hit the mark for everyone," and so it's bringing Hextech Chests back and reducing the Blue Essence cost for new champions by half... Read more.League of Legends pulls major Hextech Chest u-turn after community outrageFeb 26, 2025 - PCGamesNIt's safe to say that League of Legends has had a rough start to the year. While the community for Riot's MOBA is often forthcoming with concerns and complaints, players' dissatisfaction levels are nearing new highs. The reasons? Well, there are a fair few, but the main one is LoL's gradual move towards more expensive or gacha-style cosmetics while removing or changing popular progression and reward systems - namely, Hextech Chests. These were booted out of LoL at the start of 2025, but with community sentiment souring, Riot has done a u-turn. Hextech Chests are returning next week as part of the Act 2 update, and to further make peace with players, the unlock costs for new champions will be halved. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: League of Legends Mythic shop February 2025 - what's on sale now? Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale? Despite new wave of third-party bans, League of Legends will still allow them You could be playing this new League of Legends card game by the end of the yearFeb 24, 2025 - PCGamesNA League of Legends card game to rival Magic The Gathering? Oooh yes, that sounds like a winner. While they can be expensive hobbies, a great TCG can lure in huge crowds. Sure, Riot Games already has its digital LoL card game, Legends of Runeterra, but there's something about gathering around a table in-person, watching decks compete in front of your own eyes, and holding a physical card between your fingers that a videogame can't replicate. So when I saw Riot reveal its new TCG, known at the minute as Project K, I was instantly interested. Right up until the moment I saw that it was exclusive to the Chinese market. Darn. Well, I come bearing some excellent news, because Riot says it's found a way to bring Project K to English-speaking regions soon after its launch in China, as well as other languages and territories in the future. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: This stunning new Razer gaming mouse is perfect for League of Legends players New League of Legends update makes dramatic changes to stop lane swaps Dumpling Darlings Seraphine is finally coming to LoL, but it's different You could be playing this new League of Legends card game by the end of the yearFeb 24, 2025 - PCGamesNA League of Legends card game to rival Magic The Gathering? Oooh yes, that sounds like a winner. While they can be expensive hobbies, a great TCG can lure in huge crowds. Sure, Riot Games already has its digital LoL card game, Legends of Runeterra, but there's something about gathering around a table in-person, watching decks compete in front of your own eyes, and holding a physical card between your fingers that a videogame can't replicate. So when I saw Riot reveal its new TCG, known at the minute as Project K, I was instantly interested. Right up until the moment I saw that it was exclusive to the Chinese market. Darn. Well, I come bearing some excellent news, because Riot says it's found a way to bring Project K to English-speaking regions soon after its launch in China, as well as other languages and territories in the future. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: This stunning new Razer gaming mouse is perfect for League of Legends players New League of Legends update makes dramatic changes to stop lane swaps Dumpling Darlings Seraphine is finally coming to LoL, but it's different This stunning new Razer gaming mouse is perfect for League of Legends playersFeb 24, 2025 - PCGamesNRazer is teaming up with the greatest League of Legends player of all time, Faker, for this brand-new Viper V3 Pro mouse. The five-time LoL world champion won his first four titles with a Razer Deathadder as his go-to clicker, but recently won his fifth title with a Viper shell, and now says he has designed this model as "a gift to my most loyal fans." For this collaboration, Razer chose its best gaming mouse for esports play and worked with Faker to create a one-of-a-kind design. You can read a complete breakdown of this mouse in my Viper V3 Pro review. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: You could be playing this new League of Legends card game by the end of the year New League of Legends update makes dramatic changes to stop lane swaps Dumpling Darlings Seraphine is finally coming to LoL, but it's different New League of Legends update makes dramatic changes to stop lane swapsFeb 22, 2025 - PCGamesNA new League of Legends update has just hit the PBE, and it features some rather severe changes aimed at putting a stop to lane swaps. The strategy has long been a point of contention in the MOBA, allowing teams to grab an early lead by moving their champions into other lanes to take advantage of the extra numbers. Now, Riot Games is taking a firm stance, rolling out a patch that lead gameplay designer Matt 'Phroxzon' Leung-Harrison calls "heavy handed by necessity," admitting that it will lead to some "collateral damage" to other tactics in the interim as the developer works on longer-term solutions. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: This stunning new Razer gaming mouse is perfect for League of Legends players Dumpling Darlings Seraphine is finally coming to LoL, but it's different Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale? Dumpling Darlings Seraphine is finally coming to LoL, but it's differentFeb 20, 2025 - PCGamesNI'm a Seraphine player, yes, I admit it. The Starry-Eyed Songstress remains one of the most controversial champions in League of Legends, attracting a decent number of players despite what feel like constant nerfs and adjustments. Whether you love her or hate her, however, there's no denying that Darling Dumplings Seraphine is an absolutely adorable skin, but while Amumu and Syndra are currently living out their gyoza fantasy on the Rift, Sera's still waiting for her Lunar New Year-inspired glow up. The plus is that the skin has made it back onto the PBE, but something has changed with its recall animation. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale? LoL tier list patch 25.S1.3 - best League of Legends champions The best MOBAs on PC 2025 League of Legends is getting a hotly anticipated skin for its lich necromancer Mordekaiser, but fans' joy has been 'obliterated' because it's 'stuck in a $200 fomo gacha store'Feb 19, 2025 - PC GamerLeague of Legends developer Riot Games recently announced that a hotly coveted character skin is coming to the MOBA. Sahn-Uzal Mordekaiser will convert the game's necromantic top-laner from his default lich appearance back to his human form. It's a cosmetic with a lot of significance to League's canonical story, and Riot clearly knows it, putting together a dramatic trailer to accompany the announcement, viewable above... Read more.When asked if they still want to make an MMO, Riot's co-founder replies: 'Oh yeah,' but don't get too excited, the ETA is 'before we go to Mars'Feb 19, 2025 - PC GamerRiot is making an MMO—that's not exactly news, given it's been technically making one since 2020. But its continued survival has been brought into question because, well, it's been making one since 2020. Plus, in March of last year, the company hit the reset button on it, which isn't typically a sign things are going well in an industry that's rather cutthroat... Read more.LoL's new Mythic system slammed for being "more restrictive than gacha games"Feb 5, 2025 - PCGamesNOnce upon a time, Mythic Variants were League of Legends' most controversial cosmetic. Only available to those who purchased 30 event-specific capsules - or those with some serious luck - you'd have to drop $200 to buy a slightly fancier recolor of an existing skin. But then there was the Faker Ahri skin, and then the three-form Exalted skins, and then the issues with the battle pass' Blue Essence output. LoL's monetization certainly ramped up in 2024, and 2025 appears to be continuing that trend. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: The best League of Legends skins League of Legends' attack speed cap is getting increased, and it's terrifying LoL tier list patch 25.S1.2 - best League of Legends champions League of Legends' attack speed cap is getting increased, and it's terrifyingJan 30, 2025 - PCGamesNIt sucks to be an ADC main in League of Legends right now. Last season saw assassins and control mages bursting down marksmen in a single hit, and this time around it's the return of the tank meta, meaning if you're not buying anti-heal and armor shred, you're not going to do any damage. We've seen a rise in obscure botlane picks as a result, with mages and midlaners popping up everywhere in an attempt to try and mitigate the sheer might that tanks are bringing to the game. But the tides might just be turning, because a new datamine from the current PBE reveals that a significant attack speed buff might be in the works. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: LoL tier list patch 25.S1.2 - best League of Legends champions League of Legends Mythic shop January 2025 - what's on sale now? Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale? It's high time League of Legends got full voice chatJan 29, 2025 - PC GamerLeague of Legends players might spend countless hours brawling with each other, communicating through the ancient art of murder and mayhem, but what they can't do is have a simple chat. While a voice chat feature does exist, it's limited to party members, and because of that, it's gone underused... Read more.Riot announces first League of Legends Mel nerfs as newcomer proves "too strong"Jan 25, 2025 - PCGamesNRiot is hitting new League of Legends champion Mel with the nerf hammer as the newcomer proves "a bit too strong overall." Making her way across from the hit LoL series Arcane, the stylish councilor is the latest addition to the roster, and has found her home largely in a mid-lane role, although she's also playable as a support. Following an initial surge, win rates for Mel have already started to settle slightly, but Riot is still targeting her devastating execution ult in its first round of patch notes. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: New League of Legends patch finally fixes Blue Essence, nerfs Feats of Strength Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale? Riot "screwed up" on LoL's new battle pass, reveals fixes for upcoming patch New League of Legends patch finally fixes Blue Essence, nerfs Feats of StrengthJan 22, 2025 - PCGamesNLeague of Legends is in a bit of an odd state just now. While it feels like early games can be decided by a single death or objective win, as things start to go late we've seen miracle steals and mammoth comebacks galore. At pro level, Atakhan seems to be relatively low priority despite his controversial Guardian Angle-style buff and the XP gains from Bloody Petals. And then there's the Blue Essence drama which, while somewhat ironed out, shook the faith of a lot of players - especially with Hextech Chests and level-up rewards biting the dust coming into 2025. League of Legends patch 25.S1.2 fixes a lot of these issues, but the addition of Arcane's Mel Medarda may just shake things up all over again. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale? Riot "screwed up" on LoL's new battle pass, reveals fixes for upcoming patch Riot responds to "alarming" claims about League of Legends' new battle pass Riot admits it 'screwed up' League of Legends' new reward system, because somebody forgot to add a big chunk of numbers in the new XP calculationsJan 15, 2025 - PC GamerRiot Games says it "screwed up" recent changes to League of Legends that were intended to simplify the game's overly complex reward systems, but instead dramatically slowed level advancement and new hero unlocks. Head of studio Andrei "Meddler" van Roon said in an update posted today that "the numbers we shipped were pretty far off from what they should be for many of you," and promised that fixes are incoming... Read more.Riot "screwed up" on LoL's new battle pass, reveals fixes for upcoming patchJan 15, 2025 - PCGamesNRiot Games has officially responded to the issues surrounding Blue Essence and unlocking new champions in League of Legends. The switch to a seasonal battle pass sent brought some unexpected changes the playerbase weren't especially happy with, and now the developer is looking into solutions. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale? Riot responds to "alarming" claims about League of Legends' new battle pass Arcane's Mel is the new League of Legends champion, and she looks broken League of Legends players are up in arms after an update to get rid of 'unnecessary complexity' makes it a struggle for new players to earn anythingJan 14, 2025 - PC GamerLeague of Legends season 1 saw a bunch of new features and changes made, including a new thematic that revolves around Noxus, a change to ranked resets, and a more streamlined reward system. While the last change may seem like a smart idea, it's wound up causing more harm than good for some players... Read more.This Jinx-inspired gaming PC is my favorite of CES 2025 and I'm head over heels for the hardwareJan 10, 2025 - PC GamerI'm not a League of Legends player but I am enjoying Arcane. That's only partially the reason why this gaming PC over at Hyte's CES 2025 booth wins my gaming PC of the show award (a prize I just made up)... Read more.League of Legends Worlds 2019 Breaks the All-Time Peak Concurrent Viewer Count Record on TwitchNov 10, 2019 - GitHypThis year's League of Legends World Championship tournament in Paris ended early Sunday morning for Twitch's primary viewer base in the States.
But despite a 4:00 AM West Coast start time and quick 3-0 sweep by FunPlus Phoenix over G2 Esports, that didn't stop LoL's biggest event of the year from breaking records.
Just last month, Fortnite's “game-breaking” Black Hole event set the record for most concurrent viewers on Twitch with a peak of 1.6 million viewers. Riot Games' MOBA easily surpassed that number with 1.7 million viewers tuning into Twitch to watch the Grand Finals of Worlds 2019.
Earlier this year, Fortnite's most popular streamer, Ninja, left the platform allowing League of Legends to take back its position as the most watched game on Twitch in 2019 based on average viewers per hour.
Now, LoL also holds the record for 2019's most watched stream and the most watched event ever on Twitch. Certainly, a great year for Riot Games, whose game struggled last year after the rise of Fortnite and is now making an amazing comeback.
League of Legends' biggest competition in the MOBA genre, Dota 2, also had a record-breaking finale earlier this year at The International 2019 with 1.1 million viewers. Valve's tournament set its own record with a $34 million prize pool.
Despite cutting back on their esports budget and coming nowhere close to topping the biggest prize pool in esports history with only $2 million on the line, Riot's 10-year-old MOBA impressively continues to stay ahead of the competition at the top.
Riot also just announced that next year's World Championship event will take place in Shanghai, China. With the recent Blitzchung controversy causing Blizzard so many problems, it'll be interesting to see how the Chinese-owned company, Riot, handles the situation next year while promoting their own new arsenal of games that looks to take aim at Blizzard's portfolio.League of Legends Worlds 2019 Breaks the All-Time Peak Concurrent Viewer Count Record on TwitchNov 10, 2019 - GitHypThis year's League of Legends World Championship tournament in Paris ended early Sunday morning for Twitch's primary viewer base in the States.
But despite a 4:00 AM West Coast start time and quick 3-0 sweep by FunPlus Phoenix over G2 Esports, that didn't stop LoL's biggest event of the year from breaking records.
Just last month, Fortnite's “game-breaking” Black Hole event set the record for most concurrent viewers on Twitch with a peak of 1.6 million viewers. Riot Games' MOBA easily surpassed that number with 1.7 million viewers tuning into Twitch to watch the Grand Finals of Worlds 2019.
Earlier this year, Fortnite's most popular streamer, Ninja, left the platform allowing League of Legends to take back its position as the most watched game on Twitch in 2019 based on average viewers per hour.
Now, LoL also holds the record for 2019's most watched stream and the most watched event ever on Twitch. Certainly, a great year for Riot Games, whose game struggled last year after the rise of Fortnite and is now making an amazing comeback.
League of Legends' biggest competition in the MOBA genre, Dota 2, also had a record-breaking finale earlier this year at The International 2019 with 1.1 million viewers. Valve's tournament set its own record with a $34 million prize pool.
Despite cutting back on their esports budget and coming nowhere close to topping the biggest prize pool in esports history with only $2 million on the line, Riot's 10-year-old MOBA impressively continues to stay ahead of the competition at the top.
Riot also just announced that next year's World Championship event will take place in Shanghai, China. With the recent Blitzchung controversy causing Blizzard so many problems, it'll be interesting to see how the Chinese-owned company, Riot, handles the situation next year while promoting their own new arsenal of games that looks to take aim at Blizzard's portfolio.League of Legends' Worlds 2018 was the Most Watched Esports Event in the Game's HistoryNov 7, 2018 - GitHypUp until this past weekend, 2018 hasn’t been the best year for Riot Games and League of Legends. For the first time in years, LoL’s popularity has been on the decline with average viewer counts lower than ever due to the recent explosion in viewership for new battle royale games on Twitch.
But even with the rise and fall of PUBG, and Fortnite becoming the most watched game ever on Twitch, League of Legends' biggest event of the year, Worlds 2018, just managed to set a new all-time peak itself -- proving that the MOBA genre and LoL are both still fan favorites among esports viewers.
Last year, we reported that LoL’s main event at Worlds 2017 set a new record for the game with its viewer count peaking at just over 1 million concurrent viewers for the first time ever on Twitch.
Now, one year later, League’s Worlds 2018 event has once again topped itself, adding another 50k viewers (+5%) when compared to last year and setting a new peak of 1.14 million concurrent viewers on Twitch over the weekend.
When analyzing League of Legends' 6% decline back in October 2016, it seemed as if the world’s most popular esports game could be in trouble… but since then, LoL has seen its viewer base recover over the past two years with back-to-back increases in viewership for the game's world championship live events.
And while the recent increase in viewers is certainly great news for Riot Games and their biggest live event of the year, overall, LoL’s viewer counts on Twitch have been significantly lower this year with an average of 120k viewers per hour compared to last year’s 203k viewers per hour.
Last weekend’s event was also just shy of topping the second most watched esports event ever, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s #2 all-time peak of 1.15 million viewers on Twitch, and far from Fortnite’s record-breaking 1.5 million viewers back in July on Twitch.
It's worth noting that despite Epic's best efforts to grow the game as an esport, Fortnite’s peak viewer counts have also been on the decline recently. But neither Fortnite or LoL seem to be going away any time in the near future.
Even after a controversial year for the game and the developer, League of Legends' continued growth in viewership for Worlds has proven that Riot’s MOBA has what it takes to withstand other gaming trends and could potentially be back at the top of the esports community very soon.League of Legends Breaks 1 Million Concurrent Viewers for the First Time on TwitchNov 4, 2017 - GitHypLeague of Legends looked like it might have peaked in 2015 after viewership on for the World Championship finals dropped by 5% last year on Twitch.
But this year’s exciting finale featuring the return of Samsung Galaxy taking down the SK Telecom 1 dynasty helped LoL set a new all-time high record with over 1 million concurrent viewers on Twitch – a record just shy of Twitch’s all-time record of 1.1 million viewers held by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
With the majority of League’s player base being from China, Riot Games brought their biggest event to Beijing for the first time ever this year. After hosting Worlds in the developers' home town of Los Angeles last year, the move seemed like it would cause the American viewer counts to drop even further on Twitch this year by placing the final games in the twilight hours of Friday night and early Saturday morning.
[caption id="attachment_301682" align="aligncenter" width="786"]
League of Legends Peak Viewer Count on Twitch via GitHyp[/caption]
The awkward timing, however, didn’t stop fans from staying up all night to watch the biggest upset in LoL esports history. 1,087,754 viewers witnessed the newly reformed South Korean team, Samsung Galaxy, dethrone the back-to-back defending South Korean champs, SKT, in a shocking 3-0 blowout.
Riot is surely happy with the numbers being up by 150k viewers (10%) after the decrease last year. Especially after September marked the first month in years that LoL wasn’t the most watched game on Twitch with PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds taking the top spot.
But PUBG isn't LoL's only competition. Back in August, Dota 2’s The International finals saw a 44% increase from the prior year and new peak of 845k viewers. With $24 million in prize money compared to LoL’s $4.6 million, Valve’s Dota 2 has been gaining more interest each year as an esport. Considering Dota 2’s much higher rate of growth, it might only be another year or two until we see the LoL dynasty fall as the defending esports champion just like SKT.
Earlier this year, Fortnite's most popular streamer, Ninja, left the platform allowing League of Legends to take back its position as the most watched game on Twitch in 2019 based on average viewers per hour.
Now, LoL also holds the record for 2019's most watched stream and the most watched event ever on Twitch. Certainly, a great year for Riot Games, whose game struggled last year after the rise of Fortnite and is now making an amazing comeback.
League of Legends' biggest competition in the MOBA genre, Dota 2, also had a record-breaking finale earlier this year at The International 2019 with 1.1 million viewers. Valve's tournament set its own record with a $34 million prize pool.
Despite cutting back on their esports budget and coming nowhere close to topping the biggest prize pool in esports history with only $2 million on the line, Riot's 10-year-old MOBA impressively continues to stay ahead of the competition at the top.
Riot also just announced that next year's World Championship event will take place in Shanghai, China. With the recent Blitzchung controversy causing Blizzard so many problems, it'll be interesting to see how the Chinese-owned company, Riot, handles the situation next year while promoting their own new arsenal of games that looks to take aim at Blizzard's portfolio.League of Legends Worlds 2019 Breaks the All-Time Peak Concurrent Viewer Count Record on TwitchNov 10, 2019 - GitHypThis year's League of Legends World Championship tournament in Paris ended early Sunday morning for Twitch's primary viewer base in the States.
But despite a 4:00 AM West Coast start time and quick 3-0 sweep by FunPlus Phoenix over G2 Esports, that didn't stop LoL's biggest event of the year from breaking records.
Just last month, Fortnite's “game-breaking” Black Hole event set the record for most concurrent viewers on Twitch with a peak of 1.6 million viewers. Riot Games' MOBA easily surpassed that number with 1.7 million viewers tuning into Twitch to watch the Grand Finals of Worlds 2019.
Earlier this year, Fortnite's most popular streamer, Ninja, left the platform allowing League of Legends to take back its position as the most watched game on Twitch in 2019 based on average viewers per hour.
Now, LoL also holds the record for 2019's most watched stream and the most watched event ever on Twitch. Certainly, a great year for Riot Games, whose game struggled last year after the rise of Fortnite and is now making an amazing comeback.
League of Legends' biggest competition in the MOBA genre, Dota 2, also had a record-breaking finale earlier this year at The International 2019 with 1.1 million viewers. Valve's tournament set its own record with a $34 million prize pool.
Despite cutting back on their esports budget and coming nowhere close to topping the biggest prize pool in esports history with only $2 million on the line, Riot's 10-year-old MOBA impressively continues to stay ahead of the competition at the top.
Riot also just announced that next year's World Championship event will take place in Shanghai, China. With the recent Blitzchung controversy causing Blizzard so many problems, it'll be interesting to see how the Chinese-owned company, Riot, handles the situation next year while promoting their own new arsenal of games that looks to take aim at Blizzard's portfolio.League of Legends' Worlds 2018 was the Most Watched Esports Event in the Game's HistoryNov 7, 2018 - GitHypUp until this past weekend, 2018 hasn’t been the best year for Riot Games and League of Legends. For the first time in years, LoL’s popularity has been on the decline with average viewer counts lower than ever due to the recent explosion in viewership for new battle royale games on Twitch.
But even with the rise and fall of PUBG, and Fortnite becoming the most watched game ever on Twitch, League of Legends' biggest event of the year, Worlds 2018, just managed to set a new all-time peak itself -- proving that the MOBA genre and LoL are both still fan favorites among esports viewers.
Last year, we reported that LoL’s main event at Worlds 2017 set a new record for the game with its viewer count peaking at just over 1 million concurrent viewers for the first time ever on Twitch.
Now, one year later, League’s Worlds 2018 event has once again topped itself, adding another 50k viewers (+5%) when compared to last year and setting a new peak of 1.14 million concurrent viewers on Twitch over the weekend.
When analyzing League of Legends' 6% decline back in October 2016, it seemed as if the world’s most popular esports game could be in trouble… but since then, LoL has seen its viewer base recover over the past two years with back-to-back increases in viewership for the game's world championship live events.
And while the recent increase in viewers is certainly great news for Riot Games and their biggest live event of the year, overall, LoL’s viewer counts on Twitch have been significantly lower this year with an average of 120k viewers per hour compared to last year’s 203k viewers per hour.
Last weekend’s event was also just shy of topping the second most watched esports event ever, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s #2 all-time peak of 1.15 million viewers on Twitch, and far from Fortnite’s record-breaking 1.5 million viewers back in July on Twitch.
It's worth noting that despite Epic's best efforts to grow the game as an esport, Fortnite’s peak viewer counts have also been on the decline recently. But neither Fortnite or LoL seem to be going away any time in the near future.
Even after a controversial year for the game and the developer, League of Legends' continued growth in viewership for Worlds has proven that Riot’s MOBA has what it takes to withstand other gaming trends and could potentially be back at the top of the esports community very soon.League of Legends Breaks 1 Million Concurrent Viewers for the First Time on TwitchNov 4, 2017 - GitHypLeague of Legends looked like it might have peaked in 2015 after viewership on for the World Championship finals dropped by 5% last year on Twitch.
But this year’s exciting finale featuring the return of Samsung Galaxy taking down the SK Telecom 1 dynasty helped LoL set a new all-time high record with over 1 million concurrent viewers on Twitch – a record just shy of Twitch’s all-time record of 1.1 million viewers held by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
With the majority of League’s player base being from China, Riot Games brought their biggest event to Beijing for the first time ever this year. After hosting Worlds in the developers' home town of Los Angeles last year, the move seemed like it would cause the American viewer counts to drop even further on Twitch this year by placing the final games in the twilight hours of Friday night and early Saturday morning.
[caption id="attachment_301682" align="aligncenter" width="786"] League of Legends Peak Viewer Count on Twitch via GitHyp[/caption]
The awkward timing, however, didn’t stop fans from staying up all night to watch the biggest upset in LoL esports history. 1,087,754 viewers witnessed the newly reformed South Korean team, Samsung Galaxy, dethrone the back-to-back defending South Korean champs, SKT, in a shocking 3-0 blowout.
Riot is surely happy with the numbers being up by 150k viewers (10%) after the decrease last year. Especially after September marked the first month in years that LoL wasn’t the most watched game on Twitch with PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds taking the top spot.
But PUBG isn't LoL's only competition. Back in August, Dota 2’s The International finals saw a 44% increase from the prior year and new peak of 845k viewers. With $24 million in prize money compared to LoL’s $4.6 million, Valve’s Dota 2 has been gaining more interest each year as an esport. Considering Dota 2’s much higher rate of growth, it might only be another year or two until we see the LoL dynasty fall as the defending esports champion just like SKT.
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