The group stage of the highly anticipated First Stand 2025, the season’s first international League of Legends tournament, is approaching its conclusion. As the tournament progresses, a notable viewership milestone has been reached, with the event surpassing 800,000 concurrent viewers. This peak, which was expected, came during a high-stakes showdown between the two most popular teams in the competition. However, despite this success, the general audience growth for the tournament has been somewhat inconsistent, raising questions about its long-term engagement.
Playoff Spots Locked In but Teams Still Battling for Position
As Day 4 of the tournament unfolded, two teams had already secured their spots in the playoffs: Hanwha Life Esports, the winter champions from South Korea, and CTBC Flying Oyster, the top squad from the pan-Asian region. With just two more matches left in the group stage, all teams still have a shot at advancing, but Karmine Corp (KC) faces an uphill battle. Their qualification is now dependent on the results of other teams rather than their own performance, marking a significant shift in their fate.
KC had an opportunity to enhance their chances of advancing to the next round when they faced off against tournament favorites, Hanwha Life Esports. While the French team showed resilience by taking a game off their opponents, they ultimately fell short. Despite their defeat, there was a silver lining for KC: their match became the most-watched event in the tournament so far, surpassing the previous viewership peak from Day 1, which had been set by the Korea vs. China derby between Hanwha Life Esports and Top Esports. This new peak, achieved during the KC vs. HLE match, surpassed the previous high by 19%.
First Stand 2025 (image via Getty)Regional Viewership Trends: European and Korean Audiences Dominate
While the tournament achieved a new viewership high, the general audience numbers are still far from extraordinary. As discussed in the Day 1 recap, one of the main reasons for the lower viewer engagement is the inconvenient time zone of the tournament. Held in Korea, the matches often take place at times that are too late for American viewers or too early for European audiences. The latest viewership peak was recorded during the final map of the second match of the day, when European audiences were just starting to tune in. Had the KC vs. HLE match been scheduled earlier in the day, it’s likely that the viewership peak would not have been reached.
First Stand 2025 (image via Getty)Community Casting: A Key Element in Boosting Engagement
One notable development over the past few days of the First Stand 2025 tournament has been the impact of community casting on viewer engagement. On Day 1, the peak viewership was split almost equally between official and unofficial streams. However, as the tournament has progressed, it has become evident that co-casting, where multiple commentators provide different perspectives, has significantly contributed to boosting viewership.
The role of community casting could be crucial in increasing viewership during the final day of the group stage and the upcoming playoffs. If teams from Europe and North America, such as Team Liquid, manage to make it to the playoff stage, the involvement of co-casters from these regions could help generate significant interest. This could lead to more viewers tuning in, as fans from these regions are often keen to hear from familiar voices and enjoy localized content.
However, even with an ideal scenario where European and American teams make it to the final stage, there are still concerns about the tournament’s general viewership consistency. The playoff matches are scheduled to begin at 4:00 AM London time, which is an extremely early start for European fans and a late-night viewing experience for American audiences. It remains to be seen how these time zone challenges will impact viewership during the knockout stages of the tournament.
