TCL Summer 2025: Turkish league retains audience thanks to Kick

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This summer all turkish League of Legends fans were swept up in the Bushido Wildcats story in TCL Summer 2025. The team was launched at the start of the year as a collaboration between İstanbul Wildcats, former pro player Anıl “HolyPhoenix” Işık, and popular streamer Ahmet “Jahrein” Sonuç. Bushido Wildcats struggled through the winter and spring splits, but they finally hit their stride in the summer. The storyline got even more compelling with Misa Esports as their main challenger — HolyPhoenix former team — adding a unique edge to the rivalry.

In a nail-biting final, Misa Esports edged out Bushido Wildcats 3:2 to claim the season championship. Both teams, along with ULF Esports and Beşiktaş Esports, earned qualification for the EMEA Masters.

When it comes to viewership, the TCL is faring slightly better than other leagues. Peak concurrent viewers fell 48% compared to spring, but average viewership per broadcast rose by roughly 8%. A big factor in this growth has been Jahrein’s active community casting. Largely thanks to his streams, the TCL is the only EMEA Masters league that generates most of its viewing hours on Kick, highlighting the platform’s strong connection with the Turkish audience.

It’s worth noting that TCL started the year even stronger, with an average viewership of 23,300 — the league’s best numbers since summer 2021. By the spring and summer splits, the audience had declined, yet the number of unique broadcast channels continued to rise.

How should we interpret this trend? The arrival of popular Turkish streamers and high-profile teams initially created a surge of excitement around the league. Over time, that hype has faded, and the league is now gradually stabilizing its viewership at a plateau.

As noted earlier, the top teams from the TCL, 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.