Worlds 2025 Opens With New Viewership Record

League of Legends' premier annual tournament drew more than 2.5 million concurrent viewers on its opening day, setting a new viewership benchmark for the esports competition and marking the highest opening-day audience in the event's history.

The match between perennial powerhouse T1 and Chinese squad Invictus Gaming shattered the previous opening-day record of 1.4 million viewers, a jump exceeding 80%, according to data from Esports Charts. The figures exclude Chinese streaming platforms including Huya, Douyu and Bilibili, suggesting actual global viewership was significantly higher.

YouTube accounted for the majority of Western viewership, drawing roughly twice the concurrent audience of Twitch. Korean-language platforms CHZZK and SOOP combined for 840,183 concurrent viewers, a record for both services.

Korean audiences represented the largest share of viewership, though significant numbers tuned in from English-speaking markets and across the Asia-Pacific region. Industry observers attributed the surge partly to the enduring appeal of T1's star player Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, whose participation continues to anchor the tournament's popularity across regions.

The record-breaking match took place on a weekday yet dominated prime-time viewing hours across East Asian markets, amplifying engagement among fans of Korea's LCK and China's LPL professional leagues.

Format Overhaul Streamlines Competition

This year's World Championship introduced major structural changes, including a condensed play-in stage featuring just two teams, T1 and Invictus Gaming, competing for the final slot in the main event. T1 secured advancement to the Swiss Stage with a 3-1 victory on Oct. 14.

The match revived one of League's classic rivalries, reuniting Faker with longtime counterpart Song "Rookie" Eui-jin. Following the loss, Rookie said the team "left some regrets on stage," reflecting on strategic missteps against the defending champion.

Tournament organizer Riot Games also introduced the "Fearless Draft" format, which prevents teams from selecting the same champions across games in a series, a change designed to promote strategic diversity.

The Swiss Stage commenced on Wednesday with 16 teams competing across five rounds, with three wins required for advancement and three losses triggering elimination. Fifteen teams qualified directly to this stage.