With nearly 120 million monthly active players, League of Legends is the fourth most popular PC game globally. However, besides building an impressive player base over the years, the MOBA hit developed by Riot Games continues to have one of the most-watched world championships in the eSports industry.
According to data presented by Sports Lens, with 5.1 million peak viewers, the League of Legends 2022 World Championship is the second most-watched eSports event of all time.
LoL Championships Four Out of Five Most-Watched Esports Events of All-Time
The 2022 World Championship, which hosted 24 teams from around the globe, kicked off on September 29 in Mexico City and culminated on November 5 in San Francisco. During the seven days of the championship, League of Legends fans worldwide were glued to their screens, waiting to see who would be the new champion. After five nerve-wracking matches at the finals, the Korean LoL eSports team, DRX, has won the title.
The Esports Charts data show Worlds 2022 was the only championship in the history of eSports, besides the 2021 Free Fire World Series, which had more than 5 million peak viewers.
With 5.41 million peak viewers, the Garena Free Fire tournament held in Singapore last year still holds the number one spot as the most-watched eSports event. However, statistics show that four out of five most-watched eSports of all time were LoL World Championships.
With 4.02 million peak viewers, the Worlds 2021 ranked as the third most-watched eSports competition. The Worlds 2019 and 2020 follow, with 3.99 million and 3.88 million peak viewers, respectively.
The International Still Leads in Overall Prize Pool
While League of Legends has four of the five most-watched eSports events of all time, no game is close to Dota 2 when talking about the prize money.
The International prize pool was continuously growing for the last decade. Between 2011 and 2016, it swelled by a jaw-dropping 1,200%, rising from $1.6 million to $20.7 million. Then, it practically doubled in the next five years, reaching a massive $40 million in 2021. However, in 2022, the prize pool decreased for the first time in the championship history, with the International 11 bringing merely half the prize money seen last year.
According to eSports Earnings data, The International championships make eight out of ten eSports competitions with the highest overall prize pool of all time. Also, Dota 2 is still the highest-awarding eSports game globally. The Esports Earnings data show the popular multiplayer online battle arena game hit $310.6 million in total prize money, and Chinese players won one-fifth of that value.
Fortnite is the second highest-paid eSports game, with $145.2 million in total prize money. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive follows, with over $142.8 million. League of Legends and Arena of Valour round the top five list, with $98.4 million and around $60 million, respectively.
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