Faker is still the 'lifesaver' of League of Legends

The game has maintained a huge viewership thanks to Faker and his teammates' deep runs in the tournament. But T1's dominance has created an imbalance in the eSports ecosystem.

Victory at CKTG 2025 brings Faker his 6th championship. Photo: Lol Esports .

League of Legends is no longer at its peak in terms of player numbers. Instead of focusing on the game itself, derivative products such as movies, storylines and shared universe games are gradually exploited by Riot Games. In particular, the attractive tournament system with famous players is an important pillar in keeping the "heat" of the 15-year-old game.

According to the eSports Charts tracking platform, 4/5 of the most viewed matches at Worlds 2025 all have the presence of T1. This is not a new development. At least 3/5 of the most viewed matches at Worlds 2022-2025 belong to Faker and his teammates. Notably, the leading position is always associated with this organization.

This shows the level of dependence of the entire League of Legends e- sports ecosystem on one individual. In the worst case scenario, if T1 performs poorly, Faker cannot attend the biggest event of the year, a large number of viewers will be lost.

4/5 of the most viewed matches at CKTG 2025 belong to T1. Photo: Esports Charts.

Viewership for the biggest eSports tournament of the year is slowing down. The finals saw a 1.7% drop in viewership compared to last year. Vietnam and South Korea are the two regions that have shown a positive interest in the game. However, Western audiences have been cooling off on League of Legends.

In addition, the matches in the quarterfinals and semi-finals also showed a sharp drop in viewership by tens of percent. Only the matches with the participation of T1 and Faker attracted the audience.

In China, the game’s most important market, League of Legends eSports has been shrinking in size. This time around, their investment in the tournament has been reduced compared to 2017 and 2020. The LPL (Chinese Premier League) has failed to maintain its appeal as they have consistently lost to T1 at Worlds. Several sources say that some organizations are considering dropping out of the tournament next year.

T1's continuous dominance for 3 years gradually discouraged its opponents. Many "super teams" were formed with huge salaries, with the ambition to overthrow Faker, but all failed. JDG 2023, BLG 2024 or Gen.G could not beat T1 despite having many good players.

With a third consecutive championship and a second-place finish in 2022, Faker and his teammates will earn at least $4 million in prize money. This figure does not include lucrative advertising contracts and millions of dollars from the eSports World Cup event.

Source: https://znews.vn/faker-van-la-phao-cuu-sinh-cua-lien-minh-huyen-thoai-post1601541.html