According to viewership statistics gathered by data website Esports Charts, the most recent iteration of the Leagues of Legends World Championship attained a record-breaking 5.1 million viewers during the final match between T1 and DRX. Although the comparison between 2022 and 2021 viewership trended downward for many portions of Worlds this year, the finals once again set records — a regular occurrence for one of the biggest nights of the year for esports.
In addition to this, the viewership statistics also do not account for viewers from Chinese platforms — consistently the primary contributor to Worlds' online audience. In 2021, for example, Riot Games' President of Esports John Needham explained that Worlds' viewership peak was 73.8 million; 60% higher than the previous peak exhibited by the competition. In addition to this, Worlds 2021's average minute-audience was 30.6 million.
Although the scheduling of the event made it difficult for viewers in certain time zones to watch, the exciting storylines and gameplay were no doubt responsible for the huge viewership figures. The match was considered by many fans and analysts to be the best final that has ever occurred in the history of the tournament — a very close five-game series.
The final featured one of the most popular teams in the world (T1), as well as one of the greatest underdog teams (DRX). In addition to this, many fans were eager about some of the storylines of individual players: whether Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok could manage to win a fourth World Championship, if Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo could live up to his potential, and if the longtime veteran Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu could finally win the Summoner's Cup. T1 overall had a very successful year and were considered one of the primary contenders for the title, while DRX were the first team to make it to the finals as a Play-In team.
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