League of Legends Worlds 2022 atrracts 1.1m viewers on day one

Image credit: Riot Games

The League of Legends 2022 World Championship kicked off with a bang by recording 1.12m peak viewers on day one, according to data analytics platform Esports Charts.

Despite the impressive number, the figure failed to break the record for peak viewers during the first day of Play-Ins. According to data provided by Esports Charts, Worlds 2021 recorded 1.3m viewers on day one.

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However, the number can hardly be considered disappointing. Worlds 2022 is already closing in on viewership numbers achieved by other well-liked titles this year, such as VALORANT Champions 2022. The event has also managed to hit almost 9m hours watched so far. It’s also important to note that Esports Charts does not record Chinese viewership figures — due to difficulty obtaining data — which is arguably League of Legends’ largest fanbase.

Publisher Riot Games confirmed Worlds 2022 will take place from September 29th to November 5th, with Play-Ins officially concluding on October 4th. The five phases of the tournament will take place in different venues across North America and Mexico, with the Chase Center in San Francisco hosting the final showdown.

The match that drew in the biggest audience during Play-Ins day one was Fnatic vs Evil Geniuses, which saw the former organisation walk out victorious from Group A. In the next stage, on September 30th, Fnatic is set to battle it out with Japanese team DetonatioN FocusMe, the champion of LJL’s 2022 Summer Split.

The last edition of Worlds, which wrapped up in November 2021, recorded a little over 4m peak viewers. Unsurprisingly, the Grand Final garnered the peak viewership total, with Chinese organisation EDward Gaming walking off with $489,500 (~£442,000).

Besides a sizeable monetary prize, this year’s champions will also get to take home an enriched version of the Summoner’s Cup. Jeweller Tiffany & Co. has redesigned the trophy through an ‘extensive creative process’, as part of a multi-year deal with Riot Games. The jeweller was also called to redesign the LPL trophy, called the Silver Dragon Cup, to mark the LoL’s tenth anniversary in China.

Worlds 2022 roster of commercial partners also boasts the likes of food delivery company Just Eat, which will support certain European locations.

Radina Koutsafti
Radina has been a Freelance Journalist for Esports Insider since 2021. When not playing Apex Legends, she enjoys writing about tech, equality and education in esports.

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