T1’s Worlds qualifying match dwarfs the biggest LoL events of the year

After giving their fanbase massive a scare, T1 has finally qualified for the 2024 League of Legends World Championship. The team was forced to battle through Korea’s regional qualifiers, but now, the title holders have earned their spot among the best—much to the relief of millions of supporters.

In fact, during their final qualifying series against KT Rolster, T1 racked up a peak viewership of over 1.8 million people, according to viewership stats site Esports Charts. In one short weekend, T1 turned the LCK Regional Qualifiers into one of the most-viewed events of the year so far, outshining major competitions across the world in terms of audience figures.

In comparison, the 2024 LCS Summer Finals had a peak viewership of 260,000 people, the 2024 LEC Season Finals sat at 606,000, and the 2024 LCK Summer Finals between Hanwha Life Esports and Gen.G had a peak of about 1.6 million. As a result, these Regional Qualifiers have become one of the most-viewed League events of the year—a perfect example of the T1 effect. Whether you’re up early in North America or having some lunch in Europe, T1 fanatics are ready to watch their team qualify for Worlds once more, no matter the timezone difference.

There was a sliver of a chance that T1 would miss the grandest stage in LoL Esports after they fell to the Regional Qualifiers following their series loss against HLE. After losing to Dplus KIA, people began to wonder whether the star-studded roster had hit a cold streak at the worst possible time. Luckily for them, T1 was able to turn things around and win after a well-fought five-game series.

With this win, T1 became the 20th and final team to qualify for Worlds 2024. It feels like the scriptwriters of the universe are concocting another legendary tournament, with the most recent Mid-Season Invitational winners the first to qualify for the event, and the defending World Champions the last.