LPL coverage saw a big increase in the 2020 LPL Summer Split

The best Chinese League of Legends league, the LPL, has grown a lot over the course of 2020 with many new international fans tuning in.

Having a total of 16 teams in the LPL has made it the most competitive league in 2020. The Chinese teams have managed to pick up the Worlds trophy two years in a row but were recently stopped by Korea’s DAMWON Gaming in the 2020 World Championship final. Despite the disappointing result at Worlds, the LPL as a whole has grown in international viewership. 

LPL broadcast is setting new viewership records

In a recent report, Riot Games gave some insight into the summer split viewership numbers and the big increase that has been happening. For 2020, Riot has added a Vietnamese, Korean, and French stream to the LPL in addition to the English broadcast.

The expanded coverage has been a success so far, resulting in a peak concurrent viewership of 310,000 for the international broadcasts during the 2020 LPL Summer Split final. This is an all-time high and an increase of 188% compared to last year’s summer final. 

Furthermore, the average per-minute audience has seen an increase of 188% and is another new record. The average per-minute audience reached more than 170,000 during the summer final. 

Lastly, the total hours watched during the summer exceeded 10 million hours, which is a crazy increase of 351% compared to last year. The expanded international coverage for the LPL has paid off, while the LPL has been booming with talent and great games to watch for fans. The Chinese league is considered the one with the highest average skill level and has attracted many new fans throughout 2020 to watch its action-packed games. 

After losing the Summoner’s Cup for the first time in two years, it’s likely that the LPL teams will be even hungrier in 2021. The league will continue its improvements as more fans gather around to watch, and 2021 may be the year when China strikes back on the international stage. 

The LPL will be back with its next season, the 2021 LPL Spring Split, at the start of 2021.