MOST-WATCHED MATCH OF 2020 LCS SPRING SPLIT WAS DURING WEEK ONE

The 2020 LCS Spring Split has been a big season for North America both in terms of results and viewership counts. The most-viewed match of the season even came during the first week during TSM’s matchup versus the Immortals. Not only did it attract the most viewers, but it was also the league’s first look at TSM’s newly-revamped roster.

Peak viewership for LCS

The showdown between teams attracted a peak viewership of more than 387,000 people on Sunday, January 26. Despite how disappointing TSM’s finishes have been over the past two years, they still manage to be among the most popular teams in the leagues. And quite frankly, it showed.

TSM vs. Immortals surpassed every match and series during the 2019 LCS Summer Split, including the playoffs. The only match able to get a higher peak viewer count last summer was during the finals between Clou9 and team Liquid (394,000 viewers).

The failure of Monday Night League

At this time, Riot also tested a new schedule and broadcast format for the LCS this split. This came in the form of Monday Night League. The late night show was intended to feature two of the most interesting or important matches of the week. But despite all odds, the extra day ended up being a huge flop with the North American viewer base.

TSM versus Liquid was the featured matchup for the first edition of MNL. However, the broadcast only managed to attract half of the peak viewership of TSM’s match against the Immortals the day before. This trend continued and MNL never improved in viewership. Monday nights produced the lowest viewership numbers the LCS has ever witnessed.

Despite this, the season is trending toward playoffs bringing in strong numbers. The entirety of the postseason is being streamed due to the Coronavirus. But this won’t do much to stop the LCS from putting on a great show. And for that, thousands of NA fans have much to be thankful for.

Ryan Goodrich

Ryan has been writing since long before he could even write. He's written resumes, software user guides, consumer electronic reviews, and myriad web content spanning a variety of industries. But now he's writing about video games, which is much more interesting.

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