The Appeal of T1
Among all the teams currently competing in the LCK Summer 2024 playoffs, T1 is not the strongest. In fact, even from the group stage, Faker and his teammates have shown quite inconsistent performance. However, they are still a strong team, and as in many previous seasons, this team is showing that when entering playoffs with BO5 matches, they can display a different face. Additionally, another fact is that: no matter how inconsistent they perform, in the LCK, they remain the most appealing team, and even in a season that has not really met the audience’s expectations, Faker and his teammates are still the “view magnet” for the LCK.
Accordingly, in all 5 matches with the highest view counts of LCK Summer 2024 so far, T1 has been involved. The recent playoffs match against KT Rolster was the first match in the Summer 2024 tournament to peak over 1 million views (1,275,116). Previously, the match with the highest view count belonged to the confrontation between T1 and Gen.G in the first round of the group stage, with the third position also going to the T1 – Gen.G match but in the return leg. The other two matches were T1 – Kwangdong Freecs in the return leg and T1 – KT, marking T1 as the first team to have a home ground in the history of the LCK.
LCK Faces Challenges Because of T1
T1 will still be one of the top teams in the LCK and the global League of Legends scene. The concern arises when matches without the participation of this team do not achieve high enough view counts to make it to the top 5. This is because the team’s appeal comes from all 5 members, with Faker as the leader. However, Faker himself is getting older, and he may also be feeling fatigued.
Meanwhile, the LCK has yet to build a new visual appeal, as Gen.G, if not facing T1, cannot match the viewership of Faker and his teammates. For those who may not know, during the recent group stage, T1 and Gen.G almost always played on the same day. On the day of the T1 – KT match (top 5 view count), the subsequent match was Gen.G – HLE. Both of these teams are at the top of the standings and have high-profile players (Chovy, Peanut), but it is concerning that neither could even reach the 5th rank.
T1 will continue to assert its influence in the LCK and League of Legends. However, perhaps at this moment, seeing T1 dominate view counts like this, the LCK is both happy and anxious when considering a bleak future if Faker were to announce his retirement one day.