For the first time in over 3 years, T1 has missed a match in the LCK finals
The LCK Summer Finals 2024 is truly special, witnessing perhaps one of the biggest surprises in recent years, as the mighty Gen.G was “shut down” by Hanwha Life Esports, ending their domestic championship streak. This surprise is significant because, prior to this final, HLE had been defeated by Gen.G in every BO3 and BO5 they faced, with the most recent being the winners’ finals.
Additionally, the LCK Summer Finals 2024 marks the first time since Summer 2021 that T1 has not appeared in a domestic final.
While it is known that T1 has a history of poor performance in Summer tournaments, this year, the reigning 2023 World Champion has faced even more difficulties. Not only due to Faker’s injury but also the performance of other members.
However, T1 still has a chance to qualify for the 2024 World Championship as they only need one win in the regional qualifiers. But with T1 missing from the LCK Summer Finals 2024, Riot and the LCK organizers have faced the “consequences”.
T1 Continues to Prove Its Strong Appeal
It is clear to see that both Gen.G and HLE delivered a thrilling match. However, the appeal of T1 is something that no other team can replace, at least at this moment. The LCK organizers and Riot understand this when they look at the statistics from Esports Charts for the total views of the finals. Accordingly, the HLE – Gen.G match garnered over 1.6 million views in total.
However, the issue lies in the fact that the LCK Spring Finals 2024, which also had 5 games, achieved over 2.6 million views. Of course, these numbers do not include broadcast platforms in China.
Clearly, the discrepancy of over 1 million views is something that Riot and the LCK organizers should be concerned about. Moreover, the T1 – Gen.G match did not have the same intensity throughout all 5 games as the recent Gen.G – HLE match. As statistics also show, excluding the finals, the other 4 matches in the top 5 with the highest peak views in LCK Summer 2024 all featured T1.
At this moment, it seems that not only the League of Legends audience but also the LCK organizers and Riot are eagerly hoping T1 will succeed in the regional qualifiers to reach the upcoming 2024 World Championship.