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LEC Winter Split 2024 Breaks New Viewer Peak in Spain vs France Clash
The conclusion of Week 1 of the LEC Winter Split 2024 has already seen a remarkable achievement earned. With a peak viewership of nearly over 750,000 viewers during the first weekend, EMEA is off to a strong start. This record shattering came about with last night’s Karmine Corp vs MAD Lions KOI match, pitting both Spanish and French pride in a skilful regional bout.
The French Pride: Mainstays of the LEC Now
Yesterday, Strafe Esports reported that the first weekend of LEC Winter 2024 had broken the viewership record. Interestingly enough, it was also Karmine Corp at the center of that record break, peaking at 644,000 viewers in the Karmine Corp vs G2 match.
Compared to 2023’s average count of 271,000 viewers, 2024’s average count of 400,000 is already a massive improvement and bodes well for the continued viewer performance and fan following of EMEA’s biggest League of Legends professional league.
Moreover, on all 3 days of LEC Winter Split’s 1st weekend, Karmine Corp has been the centrepiece and main draw; cracking 600,000 viewers on the first day, nearly 650,000 viewers on day two, and now just shy of 750,000 for the final day.
While nowhere in the ballpark in terms of all-time peak viewers yet – ranked at 295th according to Esports charts – an important note to consider is that Karmine Corp was just promoted to the LEC by virtue of a new open slot thanks to the exit of Astralis at the tail end of 2023. And already, their promotion is displaying providence for the league in terms of new viewership records.
While there are still plenty of games scheduled for the rest of the LEC Winter Split and the calendar year, not to mention the much-anticipated kick-offs of the rest of the major regions’ leagues; the LEC’s opening debut weekend already shows signs of recovery and promise for the rest of 2024 in terms of following and support.
A Roaring Success: Spain and France Unite in Fandom to Deliver New Record
Across the 34-minute game, fans loudly cheered in Riot Games’ new Riot Games Arena as MAD Lions KOI and Karmine Corp battled out for the first time since both roster’s inceptions. Eventually, MLK walked away with the victory, but overall, it was a wholeheartedly celebrated match that delivered on excitement.
MLK was the subject of some controversy after news emerged several weeks ago that they would be remaking their roster, focusing on showcasing Spanish talent with a nearly full Spanish lineup. This was in replacement of their original lineup that consisted of much-celebrated talents in the LEC scene, including bot duo Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság and Zdravets “Hylissang” Iliev Galabov, and Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer.
In their stead, MLK forged a roster comprised largely of ‘Tier 2 talent’, drawing much consternation for the competitive viability of this new roster. Suffice it to say, some of that criticism has now been withdrawn as MLK kicked off to a strong start. MAD Lions KOI are currently sitting at 2-1 after the first weekend.
For Karmine’s part, the roster received a lot of attention after drawing former Team Vitality talents in the form of Elias “Upset” Lipp and Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo, as well as reputed coach/desk analyst Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi. This success in viewership and following is despite Karmine Corp losing all three of their opening series - against Fnatic, G2 Esports, and MAD Lions KOI respectively.
The LEC Winter Split 2024 will return on the 20th of January, kicking off with SK Gaming vs Team Heretics.
Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
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