LCS Summer 2023’s viewership continues to plummet despite fairytale NRG win

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The LCS Summer 2023, held at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, concluded yesterday with NRG claiming the title in what many have called 'the biggest upset in LCS history.' Despite such a Cinderella story, it was not as successful as the spring split, with mixed performances from the big names continuing the worrying trend of dropping viewership numbers for the league.

After more than two months of action, it was NRG who emerged victorious, coming from a map down to eventually ease past Cloud9 3-1 in the Grand Final. Both sides booked their slots at the 2023 World Championship, with the winner taking home $100K and the runner-up becoming richer by $50K.

Before this League of Legends competition began, not many gave NRG a chance to do anything of note, including ex-players, casters, broadcasters, and pundits. However, after a mixed run in the Group Stage, the side — who returned to the fray earlier this year after acquiring CLG's LCS slot — went on a tear.

Despite a loss in the Upper Bracket Final to Cloud9, the organization won a hard-fought Lower Bracket Final 3-2 against Team Liquid to set up another meeting with the blue team, and this time around, there was no stopping them. It was the side's first win in any event since its return and first podium finish as well, reflecting the enormity of the situation.

  Basic statistics and the most popular matches from the LCS Summer 2023   

Unsurprisingly, the summit clash was the most popular game among fans, as it helped the LCS Summer 2023 record 223.9K Peak Viewers. NRG had three appearances among the top five of this list, an honor it shared with Team Liquid — one of North America's most successful and followed esports organizations — while Cloud9 had two.

The most popular game did 37.5% better than the next-best entry, which is quite the gap for such a leaderboard. Of course, with an underdog story waiting to be scripted and quite a few top streamers casting it, its peak concurrent viewership number skyrocketed compared to the other entries, which also helped the competition do 11.8M Hours Watched and 76.8K Average Viewers over an airtime of 155 hours.

Its miracle run to the title also meant that NRG became the most popular side at this tournament by average concurrent viewers, edging out the second-placed entry by 0.2%. Two other perennially famous teams who enjoy massive fanbases the world over and have been pretty successful themselves were in the top three on this list.

Twitch continued to be the most watched platform among viewers, although its share did fall ever so slightly compared to the LCS Spring 2023. Taking advantage of this fall was another popular broadcasting site that is looking to slowly eat into the esports markets that have traditionally been dominated by the Amazon-owned company, with a third, newer site making its presence felt as well.

Speaking about broadcasting, iwdominate was the most popular and watched individual channel, behind only the official YouTube and Twitch handles of the LCS. The former pro has made a solid career as a co-streamer and liveviewer, and his stock continues to rise thanks to the quality of his streams.

  The most popular LCS events since 2021 (only counting splits)   

When it comes to the LCS, the LCS Summer 2023 could not really make a dent in the table, although this NA series has been on a decline in terms of viewers recently. Most of its most successful competitions have come before 2021, and the recent LCSPA versus Riot Games issue has not helped matters, although it met a speedy resolution.

It was the sixth most popular and watched event in the NA league since the start of 2021. One interesting observation is the number of times Cloud9 and 100 Thieves pop up in the peak match column, a testament to their enduring popularity among audiences in the region and the success they have witnessed over the years.

What ails the LCS?

The NA LoL league has been in a funk for some time now, with viewership stats continuously dropping, a tendency that continued into this year’s summer split. In fact, its numbers were some of the lowest recorded in the series, something that has rung the alarm bells among fans and experts and called into question its long-term sustainability once again.

  The LCS has fallen below even the LPL in terms of popularity   

Moreover, the Grand Final's PV numbers were down 17% from the Spring split’s summit clash, which itself was the lowest in LCS history. TSM, one of the biggest teams, is reportedly set to exit the league, with other sides likely to do so next year. It seemingly feels like NA is no longer interested in competitive LoL, with the final nail in the coffin being the Summer split doing worse than Vietnam’s Spring split.

What really brought into focus the league’s problems, including its financial struggles, was when members of the LCS Players Association (LCSPA) voted in favor of a walkout in May, two weeks before the LCS Summer 2023 started. Riot Games removing the obligation for LCS teams to compete in the NA Challengers League was the straw that broke the camel's back. The LCSPA, feeling betrayed by a decision made without their consultation, noted that the league organizer had promised zero changes till 2024 but failed to keep it.

This led to the disbandment of seven out of ten teams' academy teams and lengthy negotiations between the two parties before it was finally decided that the LCS would be pushed back by two weeks. In the second week of June, Riot Games and the LCSPA reached an understanding to start the tournament on June 14, adding that they were in discussions over numerous important matters concerning player protection and the NACL model.

There’s still a long way to go before the league can return to its past glories, but for now, the region’s qualified sides must focus on the 2023 League of Legends World Championship — which will emanate from two venues in South Korea (Seoul and Busan) — where 12 of the 22 participants have been decided. A massive prize pool will be up for grabs, so fans can expect some quality action when it runs from October to November.