LFL Summer 2025 challenges — Peak viewership falls fifth season in a row

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The French LFL is one of the most popular regional League of Legends leagues, but it’s facing the same challenges as the rest of the EMEA Masters circuit. With audiences steadily declining, organizers are struggling to keep fans interested in the tier-2 scene, especially as tier-1 competitions continue to break viewership records.

The breakout story of LFL Summer 2025 was Galions (formerly Team du Sud). The organization rebranded in 2024 and completely overhauled its roster. After underwhelming runs in the winter and spring splits, the team came alive in the summer. The turnaround was largely driven by the arrival of a new head coach and the addition of Franciszek “Harpoon” Gryszkiewicz as their ADC. Galions went undefeated in the group stage with a 9:0 record and even knocked out Karmine Corp Blue in the semifinals. Still, in the grand final, Kamel “kamet0” Kebir’s squad got its revenge and added another trophy to Karmine’s collection.

Joining Karmine Corp Blue and Galions, Gentle Mates and Vitality.Bee also earned qualification for the EMEA Masters.

As usual, Karmine Corp Blue drew the most attention from LFL fans. Their playoff clash with Gentle Mates was the tournament’s most-popular match, even outperforming the grand final. Still, the overall viewership for LFL Summer 2025 was underwhelming.

Average viewership for the LFL fell 15.5% compared to the spring split, and nearly halved since the start of the year. Peak viewership dropped by 32.4%, marking the fifth straight split of decline. Yet the league’s competitive level has stayed consistent, and its biggest draw — Karmine Corp Blue — continues to make deep playoff runs.

Several factors explain this decline in viewership: tournament oversaturation, a shift in audience focus to the tier-1 scene, low engagement from new community casters, and waning activity from veterans. The bottom line is clear — the French league is facing a challenging period.

As noted earlier, the top teams from the LFL, and other regional leagues will face off at EMEA Masters 2025 Summer. The tournament runs from September 23 to November 2 in Paris, at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. You can follow all the action through Esports Charts coverage.