Worlds 2020 Finals had 2nd-highest viewership in esports history

Oct 31, 2020

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The 2020 League of Legends World Championship ended with a bang in the final between DAMWON Gaming and Suning.

Millions of viewers tuned in to watch DAMWON win the Summoner’s Cup, the first time for a Korean team since 2017. The final was decided in four games, with the series hitting a peak viewership of 3.88 million viewers, excluding Chinese platforms per Esports Charts.

3.88M Peak Viewers on #Worlds2020 Grand Finals – @DamwonGaming vs @SNG_lol.@YouTube peak – 2M@Twitch peak – 1.6M

More stats:https://t.co/j0Som7PVhy pic.twitter.com/FYcFjPTCSm

— Esports Charts ???? (@EsportsCharts) October 31, 2020

This is the second-highest peak viewership of any esports match in history, only beaten by the 2019 World Championship semifinal between G2 Esports and SK Telecom T1. This year’s final fell just 100,000 viewers short of beating the record, something that would likely have happened if DAMWON and Suning went all five games.

TOP-3 #esports matches by Peak Viewers (excl. Chinese platforms):

#1 – @T1LoL vs @G2esports – 3.98M (#Worlds2019)
#2 – @DamwonGaming vs @SNG_lol – 3.88M (#Worlds2020)
#3 – @G2esports vs @FPX_Esports – 3.7M (#Worlds2019)#LoL @lolesports

— Esports Charts ???? (@EsportsCharts) October 31, 2020

Third place on the prestigious top-three is also from last years’ Worlds, which is the final between G2 and FunPlus Phoenix. The match reached 3.7 million viewers and was won by FPX in a 3-0 fashion. If the match wasn’t a complete blowout, it likely would have taken the record.

League of Legends tops Twitch with Worlds 2020

Even though the final didn’t manage to beat the all-time peak viewership record, it did help break a record on Twitch. During the final, Twitch reached the highest viewership in the League of Legends category with over 1.8 million. The last peak was at 1.78 million viewers, set during Worlds 2019.

New viewers record for @LeagueOfLegends category on @Twitch – 1.8M+ Peak Viewers.

Last peak – 1.78M, #Worlds2019.

— Esports Charts ???? (@EsportsCharts) October 31, 2020

League of Legends has been sitting on the esports viewership throne for years now and continues to do so. Worlds has proven to be the biggest esports event on the calendar and will probably set new records in the future.

The League of Legends World Championship will return to Shanghai in 2021, where live coverage and big crowds will potentially set another viewership record.