The LCK, South Korea’s tier-one League of Legends esports league, has recorded its highest-ever peak viewership during the 2023 LCK Summer Split finals.
The grand finals between popular esports organisations T1 and Gen.G generated a peak viewership of 1.53m, according to data platform Esports Charts. The LCK’s previous viewership record was recorded earlier this year during the 2023 LCK Spring Split (1.46m).
Overall, the 2023 LCK Summer Split is the 12th most popular League of Legends esports event ever when going by peak viewership, and the highest ever for a regional league with only international competitions beating it.
In terms of average viewers, South Korean esports organisation T1 was the most popular team, generating an average of over 450,000 viewers throughout the competition. Gen.G, the eventual winner of the league, placed second with just over 300,000 average viewers.
Whilst the LCK did break its previous peak viewership record, the 2023 Summer split did record fewer average viewers than LCK Spring 2023 (234,200), as well as last year’s LCK Summer edition (224,200). This year’s Summer Split garnered around 214,600 average viewers throughout its near 290-hour air time.
As expected, most of LCK’s viewership came from Korean-speaking channels (607,900 peak viewers). However, English-speaking (370,400 peak) and Vietnamese-speaking (326,000 peak) channels also continued to perform well. Esports Charts notably does not track Chinese viewership, a major market for League of Legends.
Whilst many of League of Legends’ western competitions have seen viewership declines this year, recent statistics from Esports Chart continue to highlight the growth of the MOBA’s South Korean league. The LCS — North America’s tier-one competition — also concluded its Summer Split last weekend, garnering a peak viewership of just over 223,900, one of the competition’s lowest overall figures.
Some of the LCK Summer Split’s sponsors included Woori Bank, HP OMEN, Logitech, Secretlab, Tiffany & Co and LG Ultragear, among others. The rising popularity of League of Legends’ Korean league will also provide some welcome momentum for the title’s World Championships, which is taking place in South Korea later this year.
