EMEA Regional Leagues: Who attracted more viewers in Spring?

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As the EMEA Masters Spring 2025 heats up, Esports Charts takes a closer look at Europe’s regional league landscape, a scene shaped by sharp contrasts and a few surprising shifts. While the LFL and NLC remain dominant in the tier-two ecosystem, both are seeing signs of decline in viewership. Meanwhile, other leagues are either gaining ground or slipping further behind.

The Turkish TCL made headlines by climbing into the top three, fuelled by a strategic shift to Kick and support from major community figures. Meanwhile, former viewership heavyweight Superliga has fallen from grace and now competes with Prime League and Rift Legends for mid-tier relevance, all three struggling with dwindling official broadcasts and inconsistent community coverage.

NLC and LFL have cemented their leadership

Two clear frontrunners have emerged among all the regional leagues in EMEA: NLC and LFL pulled well ahead of the competition in viewership. At this point, it’s safe to say these are the two flagship leagues in Europe’s tier-2 League of Legends scene. The NLC is still riding the wave from Los Ratones’ explosive debut this winter, while the LFL continues to thrive thanks to strong community casting, led by Kamel ‘’Kameto’’ Kebir, who covers Karmine Corp Blue’s matches. 

Overall, the NLC and LFL spring seasons wrapped up as expected — all the top contenders secured their spots at EMEA Masters Spring 2025. Still, one storyline stood out: Los Ratones lost a full match for the first time in two NLC splits. That defeat came in the second round of the playoffs at the hands of NORD Esports. However, Martin "Rekkles" Larsson and his team rallied in the lower bracket and got their revenge in the finals. 

The most watched national LoL championships of the Spring 2025 Season

TCL breaks into the top three thanks to Kick broadcasts

The Turkish TCL has firmly claimed the third spot among the most-watched leagues in the EMEA Regional Leagues. After posting relatively weak numbers in 2023 and 2024, TCL has seen a significant surge in viewership and audience reach this season. Much of that growth can be credited to top Turkish community casters like Ferit ‘’wtcn’’ Karakaya and Ahmet ‘’Jahrein’’ Sonuç switching to Kick. The platform has now become TCL’s primary viewership source, which is a unique case among all EMEA Regional Leagues.

One of the biggest stories in the Turkish league this spring was the collapse of Papara SuperMassive. After winning three straight seasons, the team ended the TCL Spring 2025 in a disappointing seventh place, missing out on EMEA Masters qualification entirely. This spring, Boostgate Esports, Misa Esports, and ULF Esports earned the honor of representing Turkey at the EMEA Masters.

Superliga, Prime League, and Rift Legends battle for relevance

Just a few years ago, Superliga was neck and neck with the LFL for the title of the most popular EMEA Regional Leagues. Today, that rivalry feels outdated. After KOI’s main roster transitioned from Superliga to the LEC, Ibai ‘’Ibai’’ Llanos largely stopped covering regional league matches — and viewership declined almost immediately. Today, Superliga’s audience reach puts it in direct competition only with Germany’s Prime League and Poland’s Rift Legends League. 

All three leagues now show similar performance metrics, but the viewership trends tell a troubling story: each is steadily losing audience, while community casting remains inconsistent. Co-casters often stream only the matches involving teams they’re affiliated with, skipping others entirely — which, in turn, negatively impacts the overall performance of the tournaments.

The most popular national LoL championships of the Spring 2025 Season

The Italian league aims to set an example for other struggling regions

The outlook for the remaining leagues is mixed. With relatively low viewership across the board, even the involvement of one or two streamers can noticeably skew the stats for a single match. Still, the Italian LIT League stands out for bucking the trend, actually growing its audience this spring. A major factor behind this growth has been the increased presence of community casters: the number of broadcast channels covering the league jumped from 3 to 16 compared to the winter split. That may not sound like much, but for a league of this scale, it marks a significant leap forward.

The EMEA Masters Spring 2025 is running online from June 3 to June 21, with a total prize pool of €60,000. You can track match results and viewership stats on the Esports Charts event page.