In the recent spring season, the LPL tournament faced numerous challenges in attracting viewers. Specifically, the audience for the LPL tournament has decreased significantly compared to the previous season. The retirement of star players like TheShy and Uzi, along with the dwindling trust of fans as LPL representatives consistently failed against T1 at the 2023 World Championship, are considered the main reasons for this.
In an effort to salvage the tournament, the organizers implemented a new system and format for LPL Summer 2024. The “Fearless Draft” format is expected to generate excitement among viewers with fresh and unique choices. However, these efforts seem insufficient to bring audiences back for LPL Summer 2024.
According to statistics from Sohu, the viewership for the opening match of LPL Summer 2024 was only about 550,000. This number is just half of the viewership for the opening match of the spring season. Meanwhile, other matches in LPL Summer 2024 are faring even worse, with viewership dropping to between 100,000 and 300,000. This is truly a dismal figure for such a major region like LPL.
Not stopping there, LPL fans have also been ‘salted’ by former World Champion Ning with his harsh comments. According to Ning, the LPL is currently experiencing a serious decline in its appeal. Therefore, as a spectator of the tournament, Ning believes that the LPL is even less exciting than a friendly competition called the “Old Man’s Cup.”
“I’ve been watching the recent LPL matches as a viewer, and honestly, they are less exciting than the ‘Old Man’s Cup.’ This tournament features many famous names, and viewers would prefer to see Uzi and TheShy compete more. Not to mention that the ‘Old Man’s Cup’ has plenty of drama among content creators that keeps the audience talking about them. LPL lacks such elements; if there are any, they are truly ‘ridiculous.’ In short, I believe the ‘Old Man’s Cup’ is now more appealing than LPL,” Ning shared.
Following the failure of LPL representatives at the 2023 World Championship, the trust of fans in the tournament has significantly diminished. This trend continued during the recent MSI 2024, where BLG fell to Gen.G right in their own home. This could be a key reason why viewership for LPL Summer 2024 continues to decline compared to the spring season.
Therefore, the LPL organizers’ efforts to change the competition format may struggle to regain fan trust. Perhaps the LPL teams themselves need to work harder, bringing international titles to the region to restore fan confidence. If that happens, the number of viewers and followers of LPL will naturally increase without any changes to the format.