G2 Esports recently won the LEC Winter 2023, defeating MAD Lions 3-0 in the Playoffs Grand Final to secure their spot in the MSI 2023 and LEC 2023 Championship. The German team also received $42,430 in reward money and 120 title points, which are important for the team’s hopes of making the Season Finals.

The League of Legends EMEA Championship became the formal term of this split because it was the first to take place following Riot Games’ announcement at the end of 2022 that the LECs and EMEA Masters would combine. In addition, there will be three divisions rather than the customary two: Winter, Spring and Summer. From this point forward, there will also be three game weeks: Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Saturdays will always be the day of the Split Championships.

This also meant that the league would adopt a new structure, with teams competing in the Regular Season, Group Stage, and Playoffs. The best eight teams from Phase 1 will advance to the second round, which will be contested in a single round Robin format.

Due to the revised structure, Hours Watched will no longer be used by Esports Charts to compare viewing the LEC Winter 2023 and the Splits from the previous year. Using Average Viewers would provide a clearer picture of the differences in viewership numbers between the current year and the events in 2022 due to the timetable change and resulting shorter broadcast periods.

Languages see a rise in AV usage

Compared to a prior two, Spanish saw a significant increase this year, and the reason behind that are fairly clear. Interest in this League of Legends tournament was strong with two new teams from the nation, making their debuts.

At this year’s LEC Winter competition, French also experienced a positive 53.2% increase, reiterating its status as one of the most important marketplaces for League of Legends. Most of this backing would have gone to Team Vitality, the only French team competing in the tournament who sadly ended with a 1-2 record in Pool A of the Group stage.

Crowd overlap: Despite LoL events peaking, CS: GO stays strong

Last but not least, the results show that as predicted, the LCK and LCS Spring competitions were more well-liked by LoL players when the table for overlap with other championships is reviewed. Along with the LVP and LPL Spring Events, the top four events were all MOBA-based, proving that Riot’s timetable adjustment had some impact on the viewership figures for its different leagues.

What is undeniable is that interest in the competition has not really been impacted by the format change and the addition of new teams, and spectators continue to crowd the event to watch their teams and players compete in their favorite Esports category.