The LEC Winter 2025 regular season has come to an end, and early conclusions can now be drawn about its viewership. In a format identical to last year’s Winter Split, the first three weeks saw ten teams compete in nine BO1 matches each. While it is impossible to compare these figures to the split average since Winter 2025 is not yet finished, we can observe that peak viewership numbers have been notably different compared to the beginning of last year.

For comparison, in 2024, the MAD Lions KOI faced Karmine Corp (KC) in the first week, which became the second-highest peak of the entire split, reaching 741,450 viewers. This year, however, the same match-up has once again been the most watched from the regular season, but "only" drew 592,717 viewers, marking a drop of approximately 20%, according to Esports Charts.

The offseason at the end of 2024 was very loud and generated significant buzz, raising hopes for some of the most popular teams—such as KC, Movistar KOI (MDK), and Fnatic—to finally challenge for the top spot in the league, ending G2 Esports' long reign of dominance. While these teams have started the split strong, peak viewership numbers remain lower. This decline can be attributed to a few factors. One potential explanation is viewer fatigue with the format. The Winter Split, unlike other splits this year, features teams competing in BO1 formats, which are primarily aimed at determining playoff seeding, with no direct elimination or qualification matches. The goal is simply to qualify 8 out of 10 teams for the playoffs, which means the stakes are relatively low—especially this year, as teams like Karmine Corp and KOI were almost certain to qualify early on. As a result, many of the matches lack the intense drama that might have otherwise drawn in larger audiences.

Two possible factors behind the decline

Two main factors explain the drop in viewership. First, last year Karmine Corp’s debut in the LEC created significant buzz. Their entrance to the league was an exciting narrative, and the hype surrounding the roster of 2025 remains high, especially with the rise of Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert, the top rookie prospect and frontrunner for the best rookie of the split title. However, the Twitch landscape was slightly different last year. The Stream for Humanity charity event, for instance, drew a large portion of the French-speaking community away from the first weekend of competition, potentially impacting viewership numbers.

Secondly, in Spain, the absence of renowned streamer Ibai Llanos from co-streaming, due to time and health concerns, has had a noticeable impact. Ibai’s absence led to Sergio "Knekro" García stepping in, which influenced the viewership numbers from the Spanish-speaking community. This change could potentially affect the future global viewership figures for Winter 2025. Last year, the highest peak was reached during the finals between G2 and MAD Lions, which hit 830,816 viewers, with 39% of those tuning in through Ibai’s channel.

The combination of these factors—fatigue with the BO1 format, shifts in streamer involvement, and changing audience landscapes—has likely contributed to the reduced viewership numbers seen so far this year. Whether these trends will continue through Winter 2025 remains to be seen and highly depends on the popular team's journey through the bracket.

LEC peaks at around four times that of NA rival

For comparison, the LEC is still performing much better than the North American league. Indeed, the LCS, now rebranded as LTA North and intended to integrate more with the newly formed LTA South, has not yet seen the expected benefits. To make a fair comparison with just a few days of competition, the highest peak viewership recorded so far was during the first BO3 between FlyQuest and Shopify Rebellion, reaching 148,603 viewers. This marks a 23% decline from last year’s regular-season peak, which occurred in a BO1 between Cloud9 and Shopify Rebellion during Week 2.

While both leagues are experiencing a similar decline, the gap in popularity remains undeniable: the LEC’s peak viewership is currently almost four times higher than that of the LTAN at the start of the year. Given these numbers, it's understandable why the North American league is now allowing teams to stream their scrims in an attempt—once again—to breathe new life into the scene.

Too early to draw conclusions

For both the LEC and LTA, it's still too early to make definitive assessments. Once the first split concludes, we'll have a clearer picture of average viewership and peak numbers, especially with playoffs included.

In the LTA’s case, the upcoming LTA Split 1 Playoffs between LTA North and LTA South will begin this weekend and provide valuable insight into the viewership impact of the first-ever matches between the two regions since the merge. According to Esports Charts, LTA South has peaked at 254,464 viewers, 72% higher than its northern counterpart.