The 2020 LEC Spring Split is back with a bang, and we’re not just talking about the games. We’re talking about the masterful roast to the Overwatch League in the cold opening titled “Explainius explains the #LEC Playoff Format (sort of).”
The LEC is back after a brief hiatus. The most recent cold opening was supposed to go live on March 13 when the LEC was suddenly suspended. Casters Christy “Ender” Frierson and Andrew “Vedius” Day as Explainius delivered one of the funniest moments in the season so far.
In the video, Explainius attempts to explain the new LEC playoff format. He fails miserably, but also clarifies that they listened to the fans when they complained about the finals, because of the increased number of players, the new game modes, and a “washed up DJ”.
Of course, they’re referencing the 2018 Overwatch League grand finals at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York where, for some unknown reason, DJ Khaled was made the musical guest. The performance is one that Overwatch League fans remember for all the wrong reasons.
The roast didn’t stop there. According to Explainius, all of the changes resulted on a significant decline in viewership, so they cannot longer afford the “paid actors” that were attending live events.
In this bit, they are referencing the low numbers that the Overwatch League has been pulling in 2020. This year, the league truly became global with a series of homestands around the world. In theory, this was supposed to be a major step, but so far it’s been underwhelming. Most of the homestands were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, and even when the events were on, the viewership was underwhelming.
On average, the Overwatch League reported only between 40,000 and 60,000 viewers.
In the last part of the joke, the caster is referencing a popular theory about the Overwatch League audience in Los Angeles. According to some rumors, one part of that audience is in fact made up of paid actors, because the Overwatch League never managed to sell out the tickets to the studio. Blizzard denies these claims, of course.
The LEC is back on March 27.
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