2025 LoL Worlds predictions: Expected viewership for the tournament and teams

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And here we are again: the biggest tournament in the League of Legends esports calendar begins tomorrow, opening with an epic matchup. Ahead of the event, Esports Charts and several guest experts shared their expectations for Worlds 2025 viewership. Here’s what kind of numbers we think the championship could reach.

Sharing their thoughts on the upcoming tournament:

• Sam Mathews, CEO of Fnatic;

• LCS Eevee, Reporter at Sheep Esports;

• Artyom Odintsov, CEO of Esports Charts;

• Tom Daniels, Editor at Esports Insider;

• Esports Charts editorial team.

This year’s tournament kicks off with a revamped, shortened Play-In stage, featuring only two teams. But what a showdown it’ll be! Back-to-back world champions T1 will face Invictus Gaming, making their first Worlds appearance in five years. The clash promises high intensity and plenty of hype, almost guaranteed to set the event off with a bang.

Our guest experts predict the Play-In stage will draw between 1.6 and 2 million Peak Viewers, while the Esports Charts editorial team sees potential for an even higher number. On average, our team expects around 2.17 million Peak Viewers, though some believe the showdown between two teams that have collectively lifted the Summoner’s Cup six times could push the peak as high as 2.7 million.

The Group Stage will follow its familiar format, but when it comes to viewership, the growth has been remarkable: over the past three years, the stage’s peak has jumped by more than 100%, rising from 1.4M to 3M Peak Viewers in last year’s edition. All of our speakers expect a similar performance this time around, while Sam Mathews and Artyom Odintsov believe the Group Stage could hit a new milestone of 3.2M Peak Viewers.

The biggest split among our speakers came in their predictions for Playoffs viewership, where the Final will likely be the key driver. Over the past four years, Worlds has seen consistent growth in peak audience, with a major spike in 2022, when co-streaming was first embraced. Still, only one of our experts expects this year’s edition to break a new record.

Read more: How Worlds viewership has evolved over time

The most conservative Playoffs forecast came from Sam Mathews, who expects the final stage to peak at around 4.7M viewers: a realistic outcome if no Korean teams make it to the Grand Final. On the other hand, Esports Charts CEO Artyom Odintsov and the editorial team predict the event’s peak will land close to the current record, between 6.25M and 6.5M Peak Viewers, but without setting a new milestone.

Meanwhile, Eevee, LCS reporter for Sheep Esports, remains the most optimistic, believing that if everything aligns perfectly, Worlds 2025 could push past 7.5M Peak Viewers and set a brand-new all-time record for esports viewership.

Naturally, a tournament’s viewership is driven by its teams — so we asked our experts which squad they expect to lead another key metric, total watch time. While much will depend on how the event plays out, the majority share the same prediction: the most-watched team will likely come from South Korea.

Both Esports Charts CEO Artyom Odintsov and our editorial team agree that Gen.G Esports is likely to be the tournament’s most-watched team. We also see Gen.G as the overall favorite — not just in terms of viewership, but performance as well. After all, the team delivered another phenomenal LCK season, stumbling only briefly at the very start of the year.

Sam Mathews, on the other hand, is betting on another Korean powerhouse, T1, which, in our view, is also a strong pick. Their success in viewership is practically guaranteed if they reach the Final, but questions have lingered about their form throughout the season. Before anything else, they’ll have to get past Invictus Gaming, the Play-In stage’s dark horse. In short, T1 will need to deliver another dream run to make it happen.

Tom Daniels, editor at our colleagues over at Esports Insider, shares Matthews’ view. He also ranks T1 as his top pick, but only if they make it to the finals. Otherwise, his vote goes to China’s Bilibili Gaming. Interestingly enough, that name surfaced in our own newsroom discussions too, though it didn’t quite resonate with the rest of our editorial team.

The boldest prediction came from Eevee, who placed FlyQuest at the top. You have to appreciate the faith in a hometown region — and while it might seem like a long shot, FlyQuest has surprised us before. After all, this is esports, and wild upsets are what keep things interesting.

2025 World Championship will be held across three cities in China, running from October 14 to November 9. For all the key details, from participating teams and broadcast info to schedules and more, check out our detailed Worlds overview.