LLA Closing 2024 marks the lowest audience viewership in league history

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The professional League of Legends scene in South America is facing a significant downturn, with the LLA Closing 2024 recording the lowest audience numbers in the league's history. Esports Charts has explored the factors behind this decline and the challenges confronting the league organizers.

This year’s LLA Closing 2024 featured a slightly altered format compared to the previous year. The number of teams was reduced from 8 to 6, resulting in a shorter group stage and playoff bracket. One of the major shocks of the tournament was the early elimination of Estral Esports, the most popular team in the LLA. The team was knocked out in the playoffs after two tightly contested series, both of which went to all 5 games.

Rainbow7 emerged as the champions of LLA Closing 2024, defeating Infinity 3-0 in the final. This victory marks Rainbow7’s eighth domestic split win in their history. The team has been a consistent finalist in the LLA for the past two years, having only missed out on one championship. Additionally, Rainbow7 has represented Latin America multiple times at the World Championships and will do so again at the 2024 World Championship.

The viewership statistics for LLA Closing 2024 were starkly disappointing, with the tournament accumulating just 1.27M Hours Watched. This is the lowest total in the history of the LLA league. The average viewership was slightly over 14,000, setting a new low for the league.

The grand final of LLA Closing 2024 was the most popular match, peaking at 51,700 viewers. However, this peak viewership was among the lowest ever recorded for the tournament, surpassing only the 48,100 viewers of LLA Closing 2019.

What led to this sharp decline in viewership? Several factors played a role, with the early elimination of Estral Esports being a key contributor. Estral Esports is a highly popular team in the region, known for attracting large audiences. Last year, the final between Estral Esports and Rainbow7 at LLA Closing 2023 drew over 136,700 viewers at its peak. This year, with Estral Esports out of the running long before the final, the peak viewership for LLA Closing 2024 dropped more than halved.

Most popular teams by Average Viewers

The performance of Estral Esports has had a notable impact on the league’s viewership statistics. Despite their early exit from the playoffs, Estral Esports recorded one of the highest Average Viewers metrics for the season. EE also has surpassed Rainbow7 in total HW, despite the eventual champions playing an extra series. Furthermore, the popularity of Estral Esports is highlighted by the viewership dynamics of the official LLA channel. High concurrent viewerships consistently occurred during matches featuring this team, with their final series drawing nearly 21,000 viewers at its peak. After Estral Esports was eliminated, viewership on the LLA channel never surpassed 13,700, showing a one-third decline even though key matches, including the grand final, were yet to come.

The viewership for LLA Closing 2024 is significantly lower than the previous year, partly due to the impact of Ibai’s community casting for LLA Closing 2023. The Spanish streamer, who covered only the grand final, managed to elevate his channel to the top of the season’s viewing hours, average viewers, and peak viewers. Although the grand final of LLA Closing 2024 also benefited from Brazilian streamer Baiano’s broadcasts, his viewership was much lower than Ibai’s, and his Portuguese-language broadcast did not cater as well to the primarily Spanish-speaking LLA audience.

The official LLA channels saw a sharp YoY decline in viewership, with Average Viewers dropping from 13,700 to 7,700 — a nearly 50% decrease. The league has made little progress in fostering community casting, which is a significant driver of engagement in other leagues. Despite the presence of many popular Twitch and YouTube streamers in South and Latin America, they largely ignore the LLA. When top content creators like Ibai and Baiano do provide coverage, it is usually limited to grand finals. Community casting during the regular season is sparse, with only a few smaller streamers achieving Average Viewers rarely exceeding 1,000.