Highlights
- T1 led global esports viewership again in 2025, logging 196M hours watched, roughly 65% more than Gen.G.
- League of Legends (LoL), Counter-Strike (CS), and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) accounted for every spot in the top 10, with Counter-Strike matching League of Legends at four teams each.
- ONIC Esports finished third overall, overtaking RRQ Hoshi after a flawless MPL Indonesia season.
T1 Esports, ONIC Esports, and Team Vitality led global esports viewership in 2025, according to aggregated livestream data published by Esports Charts. The ranking measures total hours watched across all major tournaments and platforms, combining PC, console, and mobile esports into a single table.
League of Legends (LoL), Counter-Strike (CS), and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) dominated the leaderboard, accounting for every team in the top 10. Battle royale titles and Chinese streaming platforms were excluded, making the comparison stricter and more reflective of globally accessible broadcasts.
While the top position remained unchanged from previous years, the rest of the rankings showed significant movement, particularly from Counter-Strike, which matched League of Legends with four teams inside the top 10 for the first time in years.
T1 Esports finished first overall for the fourth consecutive year, recording 196,031,887 hours watched, roughly 65% more than the second-ranked team.
The result came despite a mixed LCK regular season, where fourth place was T1’s best finish. Viewership peaked at the League of Legends World Championship, where the team advanced from the opening stage to claim a third consecutive Worlds title, sustaining its global audience lead.
Liquipedia
Esports Viewership Rankings 2025: League of Legends Teams Dominate
Korean organizations filled four of the top seven positions, led by Gen.G in second place with 118,442,645 hours watched after winning the LCK season, the Mid-Season Invitational, and the Esports World Cup (EWC), before falling to T1 Esports in the World Championship semi-finals.
Hanwha Life Esports ranked sixth with 87,456,881 hours, driven by early-season titles at the LCK Cup 2025 and the First Stand Tournament. KT Rolster finished seventh with 79,985,201 hours watched, boosted by a surprise run to the World Championship grand final.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang placed two Indonesian teams inside the top four, highlighting Southeast Asia’s influence on global viewership. ONIC Esports ranked third overall with 96,596,393 hours watched, following a flawless domestic year that included wins at MPL (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League) Indonesia Season 15 and Season 16.
RRQ Hoshi finished close behind in fourth with 95,207,000 hours watched, but weaker results in the second half of the year, including a 5th to 8th finish at the MLBB Mid-Season Cup and a missed playoff run in MPL Indonesia Season 16, allowed ONIC to overtake them.
Esports Viewership Rankings 2025: Counter-Strike Strengthens its Presence in the Top 10
Counter-Strike matched League of Legends with four teams in the top 10, led by Team Vitality in fifth place with 90,343,436 hours watched after a season that featured back-to-back Major wins and nine tier-S trophies.
Team Spirit placed eighth with 79,168,484 hours, while MOUZ and Team Falcons rounded out the list with 69,939,384 and 68,686,503 hours watched, respectively.
The 2025 rankings show that esports viewership remains concentrated around a small group of global titles, while tournament success, roster stability, and regional fan bases continue to shape audience demand heading into 2026.
T1’s position at the top also reflects factors beyond results alone, with sustained global interest driven by the team’s legacy and the enduring popularity of its Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, whose presence continues to draw viewership at a scale few teams can match.
