Since their performance at the 2020 World Championship, Suning has transformed from an unknown team into one of the most talked-about names in the LPL. The fact that a team without many stars made it to the finals of a world tournament with a playstyle that is adventurous and a bit “crazy” has truly become an inspiring story for many League of Legends fans.
Unfortunately, SN was unable to maintain their momentum, as they were eliminated early in both the spring and summer tournaments of the 2021 LPL season, thus officially losing the chance to participate in the 2021 World Championship.
Nevertheless, the growing appeal of SN is undeniable, especially among the international League of Legends community. Unlike the preferences of Chinese fans, who tend to favor teams with a rich history and achievements like RNG, EDG, IG, FPX, or WE, SN has garnered a large international fan base, thanks to their impressive debut on the world stage.
Recently, the statistics website EsportsCharts released data showing Suning’s “dominance” in viewer statistics during the group stage of the 2021 LPL Summer Split. Specifically, in 9 weeks of competition, SN’s matches were ranked in the top 1 in viewership for 7 of those weeks. The highest viewership was for the match between Suning and FunPlus Phoenix in week 7, with 162,073 viewers.
Of course, a significant portion of this viewership comes from Vietnam, the homeland of SofM, where League of Legends fans have always shown great interest in this star from the VCS. However, it cannot be denied that even within the domestic gaming community, the number of followers for SofM has notably increased since the 2020 LPL Summer Split.
These fans aren’t just League of Legends enthusiasts; gamers who enjoy other titles like DOTA 2, CS:GO, or PUBG also take the time to watch and support SofM and his teammates. Additionally, a large number of European gamers have become die-hard fans of SN, as the community has assessed that the former 2020 World Championship runner-up possesses a playstyle blending LCK and LEC elements, characterized by control but based on individual strategic thinking, favoring unconventional team compositions with a preference for aggressive play, and particularly their occasional “comedic throws” are “just the same”.
This is in terms of the international scene, while domestically in China, there has yet to be any specific statistics released regarding SN’s influence. It’s clear that this team cannot yet compare to RNG, FPX, or IG in terms of stature, but SN’s position in the land of a billion people has undoubtedly risen significantly, evidenced by the lucrative advertising contracts they have secured.
Before the 2020 World Championship, SN primarily promoted products owned by their parent company Suning, but since securing a spot in and becoming the runner-up at the World Championship, other major brands have also sought out this organization, including KFC, HP, Intel…
After the 2021 season, it is almost certain that the League of Legends team Suning will be transferred to Sina Weibo. Under the ownership of the largest social media platform in China, this team is sure to continue to expand its influence. The question is whether they can retain their stars and replicate their achievements from 2020, because if their performance does not match their reputation, the influence of SN (Suning/Weibo) in China could quickly fade away like a soap bubble.