T1 win helps Esports World Cup 2024 for League of Legends hit 1.1M Peak Viewers

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The Esports World Cup 2024 event for League of Legends concluded at the Qiddiya Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 7. With eight of the best teams in the world invited to do battle for a total prize pool of $1 million, the action that unfolded saw a certain side from South Korea maintain its grip on the world's best team title, helping the competition become one of the more popular ones in the game over the past two seasons.

After four days of intense action, T1 eased past Top Esports Gaming 3:1 to emerge as the inaugural winner of the title's EWC series. Apart from taking home $400,000 as winnings, the reigning world champion also pocketed a valuable 1,000 club points, which will help the club in its quest to become the victor of the club championship come the end of this cross-event spectacle.

  Esports World Cup 2024 for LoL – top matches and basic viewership stats   

The Esports World Cup 2024 for LoL registered 1.1M Peak Viewers during the Grand Finals on July 7. The presence of T1 was a huge factor in this figure, with the side appearing on all three podium places of the most popular matches list.

In fact, out of the ten entries on the leaderboard, Asian teams took up a substantial eight spots, proving once again why the game is so huge in countries like China and South Korea. This also helped the LoL tournament record 12.4M Hours Watched and 565K Average Viewers over an airtime of 22 hours.

  T1 celebrates with the trophy after winning the EWC 2024 (Image via Esports World Cup | X)   

These viewership numbers could have been higher if not for the poor performance of another highly successful side, Gen.G. The four-time reigning LCK champion has had a tough time translating domestic dominance into something tangible on the global stage, with just one major win so far in its illustrious history. Nonetheless, the recent victory at the Mid-Season Invitational 2024 will give the side hope that things will get better and that it can use the experience gained in Riyadh when tougher challenges like the 2024 World Championship arrive.

Another factor that led to the audience reach of this EWC competition not meeting expectations considering the quality and followings of teams on display was the lack of YouTube broadcasts of the live action for Korean audiences, who contribute perhaps the game's largest viewer base at international championships. The red platform forms a big part of the country's live-streaming experience during esports tournaments, and the fact that its fans could not catch the matches from Riyadh on the service undoubtedly contributed to the decreased numbers.

The demand for Asian sides was also seen on the most popular teams' standings, where four of its representatives found a place, including the top two. This also showed how clubs from China and South Korea, who often fight it out for the top prize on the international stage, remain so highly-followed, with their successes breeding global fame among fans.

This was also one of the first competitions to see the likes of SOOP, CHZZK, Trovo, and TikTok Live compete for live broadcasting space among a worldwide audience base. Moreover, reflecting on the Asian sides' recent domination of the game, the fight for the most-watched platform was a close one, with Twitch eventually coming out on top by just over 4%.

  Most popular League of Legends competitions since 2023   

With so much happening and T1 continuing to be successful globally, the Esports World Cup 2024 for LoL ended as one of the most popular events in the game over the past two seasons. It was third by the peak concurrent viewership metric on a table consisting of tournaments from 2024, with only the MSI 2204 and the LCK Spring 2024 ahead of it.

Considering it had an airtime of just 22 hours, which is much less than any of the other top LoL competitions, the audience reach it got in Saudi Arabia is pretty high. It is also one of the only two esports events at the EWC 2024 to pass the 1M PV mark, with the other one being the ongoing EWC X MLBB Mid Season Cup 2024.

There's lots of action yet to unfold for fans as the Esports World Cup 2024 continues to heat up. As far as League of Legends goes, the teams will go back to competing in their regional leagues, the LCK Summer 2024, as there is a spot at stake for the season-ending festival that is the LoL Worlds.