LoL Worlds 2025 kicks off with record-breaking viewership

On Oct. 14, the fourth seeds from two of the world’s strongest regions, LCK's T1 and LPL's Invictus Gaming (IG), faced off for the final spot in Worlds 2025. The matchup, featuring legendary veterans Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, drew massive attention from fans around the globe.

The opening clash of the LoL Worlds 2025 shattered the previous peak viewership record, setting a new milestone for the highest opening-day audience in Worlds history.

According to Esports Charts, the record of 1.4 million viewers set last LoL Worlds 2024 was beaten. This year's T1 vs. IG opener broke this record by over 80%, reaching a peak of 2,503,910 viewers. YouTube drew the largest audience, with Korean-speaking fans making up the biggest share at 840,183 viewers. The match has now broken the record for opening days and the entire Play-Ins stage across all the LoL Worlds tournaments.

The event is being held in China, but the data excludes viewership from exclusive Chinese streaming platforms, meaning the actual numbers were likely even higher. The international English-speaking audience also showed strong engagement alongside other Asian fanbases, particularly from Vietnam and China (on non-Chinese platforms).

T1 defeated Invictus Gaming by 3-1, eliminating them from the competition. The Korean team will now play against the LTA first seed, FlyQuest, on Oct. 15.

We now move into the LoL Worlds 2025 Swiss Stage! The opening matches will be best-of-one (Bo1), with the results determining the matchups for the next round based on which teams win or lose in this initial phase. The matches will start at 10 p.m. PT (previous day) / 1 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. CEST. This is the order of the matches happening on Oct. 15:

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