LoL Worlds 2023 shatters records as the most viewed esports event ever
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesBefore the first game was even finished, LoL Worlds 2023 finals broke the all-time esports event viewership record with almost 6 million concurrent viewers, even excluding China’s viewership. This is a historic milestone in one of the most storied esports titles.
Worlds 2023 brought T1 to the stage and gave them the opportunity to prove they had what it takes to earn T1 a fourth World title. They didn’t disappoint considering they shut Weibo out completely as millions watched Faker reclaim his glory.
On top of that, several co-streamers like Ibai and Caedrel are adding to the already high viewership on LoL Worlds 2023. Co-streaming has become a massive part of esports events like these, and it’s carried viewership much higher than the 750k viewers on the main English broadcast would lead you to believe.
Despite taking place in the early hours of the morning in North America, LoL Worlds 2023’s viewership broke records before the event even hit its peak.
LoL Worlds 2023 immediately breaks esports viewership record
With LoL esports being around for over 10 years now, there’s a lot of history behind both the game and the competitors who have stood the test of time as the game’s life cycle has gone on.
And none have stood the test of time more than Faker, the undisputed all-time GOAT of League of Legends. With him being around since the very beginning, it’s no surprise that fans new and old tuned in to see if he could take his fourth title.
According to info from Esports charts, Worlds 2023 broke viewership records within its first match. With tournaments like these historically gaining more and more viewers as matches go on, it’s no surprise that the record wound up getting stretched even further.
For reference, T1’s Semifinal match got just over 4 million views, making the Worlds 2023 Final an event that eclipses the previous Semifinal by at least 2 million viewers. On top of that, these numbers don’t include China, a country where LoL is extremely popular. It’s likely the actual number is much higher than 6 million.
Ultimately, Worlds 2023 viewership peaked at around 6.4 million outside of China. An incredibly impressive number for a game more than a decade old at this point.
Though the news around League of Legends has been bleak in terms of the future of the LCS and the LPL’s future as an English broadcast, viewership continues to break records.