Worlds 2024 Finals: Faker Breaks Wins and Viewership Records
The 2024 League of Legends World Championship, more commonly known as Worlds 2024, was the most prestigious tournament in League of Legends esports. It concluded the 2024 competitive season and pit the 20 strongest teams worldwide against each other in a fierce battle for victory. While T1 is walking away with the trophy, Worlds 2024 viewers also take home an important distinction: the 2024 Worlds Grand Final between T1 and Bilibili Gaming is now the most viewed esports match in history.
Worlds 2024 Grand Final: T1 vs Bilibili Gaming
T1 and Bilibili Gaming faced each other on November 2nd 2024 in the Worlds 2024 Grand Finals. The event occured in a best-of-five format that was closely contested. Finally, T1 pulled through in the fifth match to win against Bilibili 3:2, in no small part thanks to strong performances from mid-laner Faker on GGalio. After winning the prestigious tournament, T1 are the Worlds 2024 Champions and hold five Worlds wins.
Worlds 2024 Grand Final Viewership: Most Viewed Match in Esports History
According to Esports Charts, the League of Legends Worlds 2024 Grand Final is the most viewed esports match ever with over 6.9 million viewers at its peak. Worlds 2024 continually broke its own viewership records during the earlier Swiss, Knockout and Semifinals stages, but the Grand Final record is most significant as it has secured this event a place in esports history.
The match also attracted over 3 million peak viewers on YouTube and 2.5 million on Twitch. In addition to the significant attention from English and Korean bases, Vietnamese viewership skyrocketed and played a part in the Grand Finals' peak metrics.
Many factors contributed to the Grand Finals' allure, but perhaps the most vital was T1 and Faker's involvement. Iconic player Faker, who was recently inducted to Riot Games' Esports Hall of Legends, is signed to T1 and also a co-owner. He is widely regarded as the greatest League of Legends playeplayer, and Esports Charts also notes that Faker was the most popular player from the record-breaking match. He was mentioned by Twitch viewers over 23,000 times. T1 won Worlds 2023 with Faker on its roster, and the esports world has waited in suspense to see if the team could successfully secure back-to-back wins and defend its title. T1's victory means Faker, as of Worlds 2024s has won five World Championships and is thus one of the most-decorated esports athletes ever.
League of Legends esports seems to be undergoing a renaissance — the community is displaying a surge of interest in events and showing up in droves to watch. If the upward trend continues, maybe a back-to-back viewership record next year could follow T1's back-to-back wins.