The 2023 LEC Spring Playoffs: MAD Lions Reverse Sweep Team BDS
In an intense best-of-five series on April 23, MAD Lions made an impressive comeback to reverse sweep Team BDS in the final of the 2023 LEC Spring Playoffs. However, despite the excitement of the match, the peak viewership for the event experienced a decline—a possible explanation for this drop can be identified.
Decrease in Peak Viewership for the 2023 LEC Spring Split
The 2023 LEC Spring Split witnessed a peak viewership of 572,391, according to Esports Charts[^1^]. This marks a significant decrease compared to the 2022 LEC Spring Split, which reached a peak viewership of 723,061 during its grand final[^2^].
Reason for the Decline in Viewership
League of Legends fans on Reddit have attributed the drop in viewership to the popularity of BDS and MAD not being on par with other teams in the region[^3^]. One fan mentioned that while BDS played well, they were not as captivating for viewers. Similarly, another fan stated that having the finals played in the studio and featuring MAD vs BDS (not disregarding their skills, but casual viewers care more about team names) made the viewership decline expected[^4^].
G2 Esports: A Key Factor in Peak Viewership
These claims hold some merit. Looking at the 2022 LEC Spring Split, the top four games with the highest peak viewership all involved G2 Esports. This year, the second, third, and fourth most-watched games also starred G2, along with other popular teams like Fnatic and KOI[^5^].
Overall LEC Viewership and the Impact of Format Changes
Despite the decline in viewership for this year’s Spring Split, the LEC has witnessed significant growth throughout the year. With two splits already completed in 2023, the LEC has garnered over 47 million hours watched—10 million more than the 2022 LEC Spring Split. The average viewership for last year’s Spring was around 270,000, and this year’s Winter Split recorded a similar number. Only the Spring Split experienced a decline of 50,000 viewers[^5^].
Predicting the Future: 2023 LEC Summer Split and Season Finals
For a more comprehensive understanding of LEC viewership, it would be best to analyze the upcoming 2023 LEC Summer Split and Season Finals and compare their results to previous years. Additionally, considering the format changes implemented this year, this could also be a contributing factor to the decline in viewership[^6^].
LEC Spring Playoffs, MAD Lions, Team BDS, peak viewership, 2023 LEC Spring Split, decline in viewership, G2 Esports, LEC Summer Split, Season Finals, format changes