2024 World Championship set to shatter records — viewer results of the Play-In stage

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The 2024 World Championship is one step closer to becoming the most popular event in esports history. Last weekend, the Play-In stage concluded, drawing a record-breaking audience for this stage compared to any previous World Championship. A significant boost came from fans in Vietnam and Brazil, with Brazilian viewers particularly enthusiastic as their team reached the Swiss Stage for the first time.

The standout stories of the Play-In was paiN Gaming’s success and early elimination of 100 Thieves. Although 100T had a tough time qualifying for the World Championship and wasn't considered a favorite, they were seen as a more experienced and stronger team compared to other Play-In contenders. This marks the first time in the series' history that an LCS representative has been eliminated at the Play-In stage.

MAD Lions KOI, GAM Esports, PSG Talon, and paiN Gaming will move on to the Swiss Stage. A small consolation for the teams that didn’t make it could be the personal records they set for peak viewership. For instance, Vikings Esport and Fukuoka Hawks have now joined the ranks of teams whose matches drew over a million concurrent viewers.

Worlds Play-In Viewership Comparison

This year’s Play-In stage lasted 25% less time, but viewers still consumed the same amount of content as last year, thanks to a heightened excitement around the matches, which was reflected in an impressive 38.5% increase in average viewership. Several factors contributed to the growth:

1. The participation and strong performance of MAD Lions KOI, whose matches were highlighted by its owner, Spanish streamer Ibai. Average viewership on his channel doubled compared to last year.

2. The success of Brazilian team paiN Gaming significantly boosted numbers for Brazilian community caster Baiano.

3. Fans from Vietnam were more engaged than ever during matches featuring GAM Esports and Vikings Esport.

4. New broadcast platforms and channels were introduced.

The Play-In also saw an increase in peak viewership, reaching 1.43 million concurrent viewers — up 10% from last year. The peak occurred during the South American derby between Brazil’s paiN Gaming and Latin America’s Rainbow7, where a spot in the Swiss Stage was on the line.

Most popular teams of 2024 Worlds Play-In Stage

Vietnamese broadcasts during the Play-In stage saw a significant surge, with viewership increasing by 45% compared to last year. The Vietnamese VCS YouTube channel emerged as the leader for peak viewership during this phase.

Portuguese broadcasts experienced even more impressive growth, with audience numbers on Portuguese channels doubling since 2023, largely thanks to community caster Baiano.

Interestingly, none of the top three most popular channels during the Play-In were English-language channels, despite the participation of a North American team. Overall, we see a trend where viewership on the official English-language channel Riot Games has declined, while Caedrel, the most popular English-language community caster, has seen an uptick in viewers. Despite the audience shift, English remains a key language for the tournament, though peak viewership has dipped slightly this year.

Compared to last year, the number of unique channels for the 2024 World Championship has grown modestly, but some new channels are making a big impact. For example, Baiano, who only streamed on Twitch last year, is now attracting a huge audience on YouTube as well.

YouTube has strengthened its position among platforms, with NimoTV and CHZZK also performing well this year after not being present at the last World Championship. Finally, TikTok broadcasts are starting to gain traction; last year's streams had only a handful of viewers, while this year, the average audience on TikTok reached around 12,000.

On the flip side, AfreecaTV is currently falling short of last year’s numbers, but that’s surely to change once South Korean teams join the competition.

Most popular League of Legends tournaments by Peak Viewers

Last year, the 2023 World Championship became the most popular tournament not just in League of Legends but across all of esports. The 2024 World Championship is currently showing even higher numbers during the Play-In stage, and if this trend continues, it could set new records.

The Swiss Stage of the 2024 World Championship will take place at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin from October 3 to 13. You can track the results and viewer statistics for the tournament on the reporting page.