Worlds 2024: audio mentions of sponsors declined by 28% over the year

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The number of brand mentions during the 2024 World Championship broadcasts dropped by 28% compared to last year, according to Esports Charts, which analyzed the broadcasts on the main official channel of the event during the Knockout Stage.

RiotGames is a channel that has been the main outlet for League of Legends World Championship coverage, and brand mentions by the hosts are strictly regulated on the main broadcast. Esports Charts found that sponsor mentions on this channel significantly decreased compared to 2023 edition, with some companies seeing their voice-over integrations cut by half or more.

Most mentioned sponsors and brands during Worlds 2024 Knockout Stage

Mercedes-Benz held on to its position as the most-mentioned brand, being mentioned 24 times during the Knockout Stage. However, other major sponsors like Verizon, Cisco, Red Bull, and MasterCard saw a sharp drop in mentions. Verizon’s mentions fell by 70%, while Cisco and Red Bull were mentioned 50% less than in the 2023 Worlds playoffs. The only brand to see an increase in mentions was Amazon Web Services, which saw a 20% boost.

On the flip side, several new sponsors gained significant visibility during the 2024 Worlds Knockout Stage, including HyperX, Omen by HP, and Opera. Together, these brands were mentioned 33 times across the live broadcasts, with HyperX accounting for half of those mentions.

Brand mentions are often linked to specific in-game moments. For instance, Red Bull is frequently mentioned after battles around Baron Nashor, MasterCard is called out during fan voting and the release of in-game statistics, and HyperX integrations appear during highlight replays.

It’s also important to note that not all tournament sponsors had voice-over integrations. For example, SecretLab, despite its logo being visible on tournament banners and the chairs on stage, wasn’t mentioned at all by the commentators on the RiotGames channel.

Most mentioned players during Worlds 2024 Knockout Stage

Regarding players, as expected, the e-athlete with the most voice mentions was Faker, the T1 legend and five-time world champion. His name came up 542 times during the Knockout Stage (an 11% increase compared to the same stage last year). Faker's peak came on October 19, when the commentators interviewed him on stage after T1’s victory over Top Esports. His second peak in mentions happened during the highlight of Game 2 of the final, when Faker miraculously survived an attack by Bilibili Gaming near the Baron pit. It was undoubtedly one of the standout moments of the series.

In second place was Chovy, the mid-laner for Gen.G, with 329 mentions — nearly 20% more than last year. Interestingly, Chovy’s peak came at the start of Game 1 in Gen.G’s match against FlyQuest, after he made a costly mistake by initiating a fight that went badly for his team. Gen.G lost three champions in the exchange, FlyQuest gained the early advantage, and Gen.G ended up losing the first game.

Rounding out the top three was Knight, the mid laner for Bilibili Gaming, with 289 mentions. His peak came during Game 2 of the grand final, when his team lost a crucial fight to T1, allowing opponents to tie the series.

What’s interesting is that all three players in the top rankings are mid-liners. This highlights not only the central role that mid-laners play in the game but also suggests that commentators tend to focus much more on mid than on the top or bot lanes.

Most mentioned teams during Worlds 2024 Knockout Stage

The leader in team mentions was T1, the 2024 Worlds champion. During the Knockout Stage matches, commentators mentioned their name 1,342 times, with more than a third of those mentions coming during the grand final.

In second place was Bilibili Gaming, the other finalist of Worlds 2024. They had 300 fewer mentions than T1. Interestingly, Bilibili Gaming was actually mentioned more in the quarterfinals than in the semifinals, even though they played the same number of games in both series.

One notable trend was that some teams were mentioned in matches they weren’t even playing in. For example, FlyQuest was mentioned 28 times during the semifinals, despite being eliminated in the quarterfinals. This was likely due to their intense quarterfinal match against Gen.G, where the American underdog nearly took down one of South Korea’s top teams.

Among all the Knockout Stage teams, Top Esports and Hanwha Life Esports had the fewest mentions. Both teams were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, losing to the eventual finalists, T1 and Bilibili Gaming.

Chat and voice mention analytics provide a deeper look into match broadcasts and help collect unique statistics. These insights can be valuable for tournament marketing and for improving the effectiveness of brand integrations.