G2 vs Fnatic in LEC playoffs peaks at almost 900,000 viewers

The upper bracket final LEC playoffs match between G2 Esports and Fnatic ended in a five-game nailbiter that drew almost 900,000 concurrent viewers at its peak. 

According to Echarts, the series the all-time LEC & EU LCS viewership record, which shows how popular the league has become among League of Legends fans. The peak viewership reached 898,643 unique viewers. The average viewers throughout the 2020 LEC Summer Split sat at 270,000 viewers. By comparison, the 2020 LCS Summer Split fields an average of 175,000 viewers. 

Most viewers came from Twitch, where the stream peaked at 617,000 unique viewers during the five close games. Besides Twitch, the viewership on other streams peaked at 696,000, with many viewers on YouTube especially.

Fans were lucky to get a series that went to all five games, which was also clear in the viewer numbers. In fact, the peak viewership increased for each game played, with the highest peak coming in game 5.

• Game 1 – 561,000 peak viewers
• Game 2 – 663,000 peak viewers
• Game 3 – 718,000 peak viewers
• Game 4 – 735,000 peak viewers
• Game 5 – 899,000 peak viewers

The 2020 LEC Summer Split final will be played on Sunday, September 6, and it looks like we could end up with another record by that time. The G2 vs. Fnatic matchup has been the battle that most people want to see, so we might close in on one million peak viewers if the two giants get a rematch. 

LEC viewership continues to grow in League of Legends

The LEC has seen constant growth since it rebranded from the EU LCS and created its own unique identity. Since the LEC was born, the broadcast has stepped up its game while European teams have also been doing better on the international stage, which has gathered a lot of respect for Europe as a region in the game. 

While teams such as G2 and Fnatic have been performing consistently well on the international stage, so has the LEC broadcast with content production. The European production has been standing in the shadow of North American production value for years in the past, but the LEC has provided an opportunity to create a unique European identity.

The LEC broadcast has made plenty of innovative sketches, music videos, and other visual content to promote the league. Just recently, a new rap battle was released to hype up the last weeks of playoffs and it’s already closing in on 700,000 views on YouTube. 

A combination of an improved broadcast and teams performing well has had a clear effect on the LEC’s viewership. The overall viewership has seen great growth over the past year in particular.

The 2019 LEC Summer Split semifinal peaked at 495,000 viewers, while the final peaked at 824,000 viewers. Fast-forwarding to the 2020 LEC Spring Split final, the viewership reached a peak at 817,000 viewers despite the series being a 3-0 stomp. All series mentioned featured G2 and Fnatic, so it’s clear that the viewers are hungry to see matches between the two European kings.