Consequences of a dispute or just a bad day? Far fewer people watched the first day of the LCS than the previous summer split

The US LCS has started its activities after a two-week delay. The first thing that immediately hit the eye was the stream viewership. Far fewer people watched the first day of the LCS than the previous summer split.

One of the questions before the LCS resumed was whether the whole protracted feud between Riot and the LCSPA would translate into viewership. The sentiment on social media before the league started was evident, with many fans proudly announcing that they would skip the league.

These words were subsequently confirmed. Looking at the streams (YouTube, Twitch), it was clear that interest in the American competition was lower.

Moreover, during the opening game, a replay of the spring split final, the number of viewers on Twitch barely crossed forty thousand. On YouTube, however, where it is generally weaker, the number of viewers was half that.

Even Montecristo, a well-known esports figure, noticed the dismal drop in viewership. In the comments below his post, he adds that in the last summer split, the average was around sixty thousand.

It’s another nail in the coffin of problems for the American League. We can quibble over the fact that it was played on a Wednesday and viewers are yet to access the stream.

Still, a drop of a third on the first day of the league is a big wake-up call for a competition that has been struggling with a drop in viewership since 2020.

Whether this will be a continuing trend is not yet clear. But one thing we do know, several weeks of controversy, the departure of TSM from the league and the end of CLG in the LCS, have made the league a bland mass without a shred of appeal.

So the growing rumors of a plan to merge the American leagues into one ecosystem will gain momentum after today.

Sources: LCS, Montecristo