Viewership on Twitch for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship has dropped significantly from last year, Sports Business Journal reported Friday.
Less than ideal broadcast windows are at least partly to blame, with the event taking place in North America for the first time since 2016. An 8 p.m. ET start translates to 1 a.m. in London, 2 a.m. in Paris, 8 a.m. in Hong Kong and 9 a.m. in Seoul.
Viewership was down 16 percent for the Play-In round in Mexico City (Sept. 29-Oct. 4) and down 37 percent for the Group Stage (Oct. 7-16) in New York, according to Esports Charts.
The numbers rebounded somewhat for the Knockout Stage quarterfinals in New York from Oct. 20-23, although they are still down from 2021. The average minute audience rose from 826,000 viewers in the Group Stage to a peak of 1.6 million during an Oct. 21 match between T1 and Royal Never Give Up.
The best-of-five semifinals head to Atlanta’s State Farm Arena this weekend before the Nov. 5 grand final at San Francisco’s Chase Center. JD Gaming face T1 in one semifinal, with Gen.G and DRX battling in the other. First prize is $489,500.
–Field Level Media