Since its launch in 2009 and the introduction of its first professional tournaments in 2011, League of Legends has always been regarded as a highly attractive Esports title. At its peak, League of Legends was the talk of the world. The game from Riot is even considered the “national MOBA game” and has spread to countries that were previously unfamiliar with MOBA games, such as Brazil and Iceland. Especially, thanks to the allure of many famous stars like Faker and Uzi, LoL continues to attract a massive audience whenever it enters world-class tournaments.
Recently, according to statistics from the specialized site Esports Charts, T1 has been confirmed as the team with the most views in 2023 across all international platforms (excluding Chinese broadcasting channels). The total views generated by T1 reached 129.25 million views. Moreover, T1 and Gen.G are the only two LoL teams to make it onto this list. However, the reigning LCK champion only ranked 5th with 64.97 million views. Nonetheless, this is still impressive as LoL managed to secure 2 spots in the Top 5 teams with the highest total views in 2023.
However, dominating the rankings is the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which had 6 positions in the Top 10. Aside from T1 and Gen.G, all 3 remaining names belong to Mobile Legends. This demonstrates the immense appeal of the mobile game, even though Mobile Legends hasn’t actively developed its market in countries with developed Esports like Korea or China, instead focusing on Southeast Asian countries or other Asian regions like Indonesia and the Philippines. These are also the countries contributing the main views for this mobile title.
Additionally, T1’s dominance can be understood from the team’s excellent performance at the Worlds 2023. With a vast fanbase stretching across the globe, T1 reaching the finals of Worlds 2023 truly elevated the tournament, at least in terms of appeal. The final match between T1 and Weibo Gaming also garnered a total viewership of over 6 million.
It can be said that mobile games in general and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in particular have built a truly strong community. And even though it is just a mobile game, this title is genuinely challenging even the “giants” like LoL and DOTA 2 in the battle for global audience share.