Perhaps never in history since the tournament officially launched and developed has LPL been in such dire straits as it is now. And perhaps, it has been a long time since anyone could mention a face that guarantees the appeal and competitiveness of the tournament. Especially after a series of notable names officially said goodbye (possibly temporarily) to the professional environment, LPL has truly “hit rock bottom”. Moreover, the teams that used to be “familiar names” to the audience are not performing well, further putting the tournament in jeopardy.
Recently, according to statistics from LPL media, the viewership rate of matches in the LPL has sharply decreased, reaching about 50%. In fact, this rate applies even to matches featuring renowned teams like LNG Esports and Bilibili Gaming. The statistics are based on Bilibili – one of the largest live streaming platforms in the country of a billion people. The average view count in Spring 2023 was 710,000, but in Spring 2024, it only reached an average of 310,000 views.
The view counts of Spring 2023 and Spring 2024 (as of now) show a clear difference
To explain this, first and foremost, we must mention… T1 and LCK. T1’s complete dominance over LPL representatives has left viewers in the region extremely disappointed. Although T1 has the inherent title of “LPL’s slayer” (the nemesis of LPL), the fact that all four representatives only managed to win a single game against T1 is unacceptable. Not to mention, T1’s Summer 2023 performance was very volatile and filled with ups and downs, while JDG is showing dominance in every tournament they participate in.
Next, we have Gen.G – the reigning LCK champions. Surely everyone remembers the media crisis caused by Gen.G that plunged the regions into conflict. The wave of bans against Gen.G in the match against T1 right at the season opener may have driven away quite a few LCK viewers from Chinese streaming platforms. Concurrently, LPL fans also showed little interest in watching regional tournaments anymore, as compared to the quality, it is clear that LPL cannot match LCK.
Additionally, one of the most important factors mentioned above: LPL no longer has any “star players” to draw in viewership. TheShy and Tarzan have temporarily stepped back, Scout’s fan base has fluctuated after the controversies with Edward Gaming, Uzi and Doinb have left the league, while Rookie and Xiaohu have never been able to attract views like their more famous peers. This is an internal issue for LPL and will be very difficult for them to resolve overnight.
LPL is in a “red alert” situation and is directly affecting the development of the tournament. The organizers are also trying to find a way, but it seems that so far there have been no truly effective measures.