Worlds 2024 Play-Ins Breaks Viewership Record, Teases Biggest Crowd Yet
Unprecedented wins led to huge numbers in Worlds 2024 Play-Ins, paving the way for another esports record.
Worlds 2024 broke records this week as the lower-seeded teams raced for a spot at the Main Event. New insights show that the shorter format led to higher watchtime. And if numbers continue to rise, Riot might just beat their own watchtime record.
Learn everything you missed in the Worlds 2024 opener in our article below!
Solo kills, team fights, pure excitement, and broken hearts:
Here are the top 10 moments from the #Worlds2024 Play-In stage! pic.twitter.com/TTWyN5to3D
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 1, 2024
Worlds 2024’s Stellar Start Leads to Historic Debut
It hasn’t been a month and paiN Gaming, an underdog in the standings that wasn’t on anyone’s radar besides its Brazil audience, made history.
After scoring a 2-0 win against Vietnam’s #2 seed, PNG narrowly edged Movistar R7, becoming the first roster from the CBLoL to qualify for the Swiss Stage in over eight years.
The surge of fans from the VCS also caused a stir. According to the statistics, Viking Esports and SHG garnered over 1,000,000 views on the Worlds stage; no small feat, given the former was only created last November.
Play-Ins Peak Reaches New Heights
In a new viewership insights report, Esports Charts reported a 1.4m concurrent viewer count (a 10% increase from 2023). The peak occured after paiN Gaming’s last BO3 against Rainbow7, a result of more than double the Portuguese viewers from last year. And if this trend holds, this year’s Worlds might become the most popular esports championship to date.
Everything from hours watched to average viewers all saw a significant uptick across the charts, with the only notable decrease in English viewers (possibly due to the number popular co-streamers that broadcasted the event to their respective regions.)
Worlds 2024 Play-Ins Stats
Source: Escharts.com
Hours Watched: +3.7%
Peak Viewers: +10.1%
Average Viewers: +38.5%
Vietnamese Viewers: +45.7%
Portuguese Viewers: +104.5%
English Peak: -3.7%
That said, it’s important to consider that the 2023 Play-Ins lasted a day longer than this year’s. Factor in Worlds 2024’s faster tournament format, and things start to balance out. Nevertheless, fan engagement is at an all-time high, which spells good things for the the Main Event.
Read our thoughts on Europe’s hopes of taking back the trophy in our LEC Swiss preview here.
T1’s Impact on Worlds Viewership
Everyone wants to see their favorite team win. And for many LoL esports fans, that team is T1.
The legendary roster remains the most popular roster in the game and hails from the LCK, a venerable breeding ground for industry legends and the biggest titan of them all: Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
The first inductee to the LoL esports “Hall of Legends”, Faker’s name has become synonymous with success in the League. But despite his team’s rocky performance on home soil, they absolutely dominate when it comes to the international stage.
T1’s years-long struggle back to the top culminated in a record-breaking semifinal in 2023. And experts believe that this year’s viewership numbers will depend on T1 going the distance again.
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Paul started writing game guides and match predictions for ESTNN’s editorial team in 2022. Since then, he’s covered big-ticket esports events and the latest news on tech and AI.
