At the beginning of 2020, the Asian League of Legends community witnessed a significant turning point when the LCK Spring 2021 tournament officially withdrew from the YouTube platform. All global (English) broadcasting rights for the tournament were transferred to Twitch. This change particularly affected Asian fans because YouTube has always been one of the most popular streaming platforms in the region (excluding China), thanks to its accessibility. The LCK’s departure from YouTube has made it somewhat inconvenient for many Korean and international fans to follow the tournament.
For Twitch, it is a popular streaming platform among Western fans, making it easier for audiences there to follow the LCK – one of the two most exciting League of Legends tournaments in the world.
For Vietnamese League of Legends fans, this “separation” occurred even earlier, as VETV did not renew the broadcasting rights for the LCK starting from the Spring 2019 tournament. Consequently, Vietnamese fans could no longer follow this tournament in their native language and had to turn to English channels.
In fact, the demand for experiencing high-level LCK matches in the simplest and most accessible way remains a strong desire for many Vietnamese gamers. Recognizing this, BOX Sports recently brought great news for LCK fans in Vietnam by officially announcing the acquisition of broadcasting rights for the LCK in Vietnamese.
With BOX Sports successfully acquiring the broadcasting rights for this tournament, the LCK will be broadcast in 7 different languages: Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, English, German, French, and Italian. More importantly, the Vietnamese LCK will be streamed live on YouTube.
This is a significant step forward in popularizing major League of Legends tournaments in Vietnam. Previously, local League of Legends fans had the opportunity to experience high-level matches at the LPL with commentary from veteran casters in Vietnamese Esports. On June 9, the day the LCK Summer 2021 begins, fans will, for the first time in 3 years, be able to listen to Vietnamese commentary during the live broadcast of the LCK on YouTube – an experience that is equally “nostalgic.”
According to received information, commentator Văn Tùng is likely to be one of the main voices on the Vietnamese LCK channel, so LoL fans have no reason to worry about the quality of commentary or in-depth knowledge related to this tournament.