The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) has officially kicked off its 2025 season to an impressive start, pulling in over 500,000 concurrent viewers on its opening day. After the tremendous success of the LCK Cup, which reached a staggering 1.9 million peak viewers earlier this year, fans eagerly awaited the start of the competitive season. Following nearly two months of anticipation, the new format introduced for 2025 has already demonstrated its potential to draw large-scale attention from across the globe.
A New Format for 2025
On April 2, the LCK returned with a fresh structure that streamlined the league into a singular competitive season lasting through Autumn. This change marks a significant departure from the traditional Spring and Summer splits format and allows the tournament to flow more fluidly around key international events in the middle of the year. For a comprehensive breakdown of the new schedule and its implications, readers can check out our how-to-watch, which explores the structure in detail.
The Exciting Opening Match: Hanwha Life Esports vs Gen.G
The opening day featured a marquee match between two of 2024’s strongest teams: Hanwha Life Esports and Gen.G. These teams had already clashed in the LCK Cup finals earlier this year, where Hanwha Life emerged victorious in a nail-biting 3-2 series. This time, however, Gen.G came back stronger and secured a decisive 2-0 sweep over HLE, setting the tone for what promises to be a highly competitive season. The match attracted over 509,000 peak viewers, making it one of the standout performances of the day in terms of engagement.
LCK 2025 (image via Getty)The Upcoming Powerhouses: T1’s Anticipated Debut
While the DRX vs DN Freecs match was also featured on opening day, it was clear that the fanbase was far more invested in the Gen.G vs HLE clash. Still, the LCK’s true viewership potential remains untapped, especially with powerhouse team T1 yet to make their season debut. T1’s first match is scheduled for April 4, and all eyes are already on their blockbuster showdown with Gen.G on Sunday, April 6. This clash is anticipated to potentially surpass the one-million concurrent viewer mark, much like T1’s previous performance during the LCK Cup’s second day, where they broke the seven-figure viewership ceiling.
Tracking Team Performance with the New Teams Dashboard
For those looking to monitor team performance and fan engagement more closely, the new Teams Dashboard offers detailed insights into broadcast statistics. The tool covers everything from match-by-match data to audience breakdowns by language and platform. For teams, organizations, and industry professionals, this feature offers a valuable way to analyze viewership metrics with a high level of accuracy. Explore the dashboard or request a custom report from our trusted esports viewership database to stay ahead of the trends.
LCK 2025 (image via Getty)Viewership Stats and International Engagement
In total, the opening day of the LCK 2025 Season accumulated over 1.15 million hours watched across just four hours of live broadcasting. Korean-speaking fans led the charge, but interestingly, international audiences slightly edged out the domestic numbers. Viewers from regions such as Vietnam, Europe, and the Americas contributed significantly to the numbers, further cementing the LCK’s status as a globally recognized esports league.
Weekend Matches to Boost Viewership
Due to time zone differences, weekday matches air in the morning for European viewers and late at night for North American audiences, potentially capping live viewership. However, weekend matchups offer a more favorable schedule for global fans and, as such, are expected to yield higher engagement. With T1 entering the spotlight this weekend, the upcoming matches could break even more records.
