Photo via Riot Games

Classic rivalry propels Worlds 2022 past huge viewership mark on first day of play-in stage

This rather one-sided affair brought in fans from around the world.

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As one of the most popular esports tournaments in the world, the 2022 League of Legends World Championship has yet to disappoint fans and analysts alike. Although the broadcast team had to deal with a plethora of different delays, audiences were still dedicated to watching their favorite teams on the grandest stage of them all.

The biggest match, however, came from a very familiar source. The great European-North American rivalry has always been a boon to any tournament in esports, and Worlds was no different. When the LEC’s Fnatic took the stage against the LCS’ Evil Geniuses, more than 1.1 million people tuned in to catch the action, according to Esports Charts.

Related: Miss Fortune reigns supreme: Fnatic showcase their handle of the meta in first win of Worlds 2022

It was the most-viewed match of the first day, sitting just above MAD Lions’ match against Isurus, which had only 12,000 fewer viewers than the FNC-EG game. The third most-viewed game of the day came when the CBLOL’s top squad, LOUD, took on the PCS’ second seed, Beyond Gaming. That match also eclipsed 1 million viewers, thanks to the fervent support from the Brazilian and Taiwanese fanbases.

This is also a great sign for Worlds in terms of viewership since the event has already broken the 1 million mark on the first day. As the tournament moves forward, more teams will step onto the Summoner’s Rift, with multiple star-studded matchups headed our way between powerhouse squads like T1, Gen.G, JD Gaming, Top Esports, Rogue, and Cloud9. These huge meetings should bring in even more fans, pushing the peak viewership mark higher and higher.

Currently, the highest peak viewership in the tournament’s history was at Worlds 2021, when Edward Gaming clashed against DWG KIA in the grand finals. According to Esports Charts, that best-of-five series reached a whopping peak viewership of 4 million fans, and although this year is far from beating this record, there’s still plenty of time for teams to break records again.


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Author
Tyler Esguerra
Lead League of Legends writer for Dot Esports. Forever an LCS supporter, AD carry main, with more than five years in the industry. Sometimes I like clicking heads in Call of Duty or VALORANT. Creator of the Critical Strike Podcast.