We’ve reached the climax of the 2025 League of Legends World Championship: the grand final is here, and history could be made. Despite an uneven season and shaky moments along the way, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and his T1 roster have once again fought their way to the final, chasing a third consecutive Worlds title. From a viewership standpoint, this matchup is as good as it gets — T1’s involvement usually guarantees massive audiences. Yet this year’s numbers tell a different story: overall viewership is down compared to 2024, and new records seem out of reach.
The Worlds 2025 finalists are set after a dramatic weekend of playoffs. Saturday brought a full-blown Korean showdown as Gen.G, the most dominant team of this LoL season, clashed with KT Rolster, who have been nothing short of spectacular throughout the tournament. But history repeated itself: Gen.G’s title hopes were crushed once again, as KT triumphed 3:1 to reach the Worlds final for the first time in the organization’s history.
The main event unfolded on Sunday, as fan favorites T1 went up against China’s Top Esports. What seemed on paper like one of the tightest matchups of the tournament turned out to be a clean sweep: T1 crushed their rivals 3:0, reaffirming their reputation as the “LPL Slayers”. Faker earned the series MVP award, a reminder of just how long he’s been defining greatness. The upcoming final will be the eighth of his storied career.
From a storytelling standpoint, the semifinals delivered everything fans could ask for: intensity, rivalries and star power. But from a viewership perspective, the picture wasn’t nearly as bright. The average audience dropped by nearly 25% compared to 2024, while peak viewership fell by more than 27%.
Every key demographic saw declines, with only Korean and Chinese viewers (on non-Chinese platforms) showing smaller drops than others. What makes this dip more striking is that this year’s semifinals were actually broadcast across more channels than last year’s.
Part of the decline can be traced back to how perfectly 2024 lined up for peak numbers. That year’s T1 vs Gen.G clash was a real highlight, drawing nearly three times the audience of the other semifinal between Bilibili Gaming and Weibo Gaming. By contrast, this year’s semifinals were much closer to each other in viewership terms, but both fell short overall. Combined with the subdued audience activity seen throughout the event, it points to a broader cooling trend that’s hard to overlook.
The grand final could still turn things around, maybe even break a record, but for now, the odds don’t point that way. Still, nothing’s set in stone: Riot might yet stir up the hype and draw dormant fans back in, and the matchup itself could deliver twists no one sees coming. For now, all we can do is wait and watch.
