Buzz
Faker solidifies his influence on the biggest League of Legends tournament in Korea.
In the final week of the LCK Summer 2023 group stage, good news arrived as Faker officially rejoined T1's starting lineup. Immediately, T1 players shed the image of vulnerability seen since the first match against DRX, securing two consecutive wins, one of which was a dominating victory (against Kwangdong Freecs), showcasing T1's style against lower-tier teams before Faker's injury.
Not only T1, but even LCK benefits from Faker's comeback. According to statistics from Eschart, the viewership for the T1 - KDF match increased by 18% (over 475k viewers) compared to T1's previous matches (which had around 400k viewers). This number also surpassed the 450k viewership in the T1 vs. DRX match in the first round - the match marking Faker's absence from T1 due to injury.
As mentioned before, T1 and Faker remain the crucial 'view magnets' for LCK. Being the most famous team in LCK, T1's matches have an absolute impact on the tournament's ticket sales revenue. The top 10 most-watched matches this season all involve T1. Even when expanding the scope to the top 20, only two or three matches lack the presence of Faker and teammates. The expected increase in T1 viewership is a positive sign for the tournament's ticket sales success but also brings along various challenges.
A straightforward opinion from the audience states: 'LCK will falter whenever Faker is absent.' To emphasize, even T1's matches in LCK Summer 2023 do not always maintain consistently high viewership numbers. Take the T1 - Gen.G match in the opening week, with over 760k viewers. Disregarding subjective factors (T1 only facing a weaker team already secured in the playoffs), the average viewership still drops significantly. Looking at the entire tournament, the average viewership decreases by approximately 30% (from around 230k down to only 160k).
Certainly, the upcoming playoff matches might address LCK's concerns. However, this likely hinges on the performance of the top teams, notably T1, and how far they can advance in this tournament.
