The 2025 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational set a new viewership record with over 3.4 million peak viewers. Gen.G secured back-to-back titles against T1, while YouTube overtook Twitch as the top streaming platform. Here’s everything you need to know.
The 2025 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) has officially broken its all-time viewership record, peaking at 3,445,577 concurrent viewers, according to data from Esports Charts. This figure excludes Mainland China platforms and comfortably surpasses last year’s 2.8 million peak, signaling continued global interest in competitive LoL.
Held in Vancouver, Canada, this year’s MSI saw Gen.G defend their title with a thrilling victory over fellow LCK powerhouse T1 in the grand final. The match-up between these Korean rivals wasn’t just a competitive showdown; it was also a major driver of global viewership. T1’s consistent popularity propelled them to feature in all five of the most-watched series, contributing to 35 million hours watched across the event.
Interestingly, while peak viewership soared, average viewership slightly declined to 949,582, down by over 60,000 from 2024. Analysts attribute this drop largely to unfavorable time zones for European audiences. However, regional breakdowns reveal Korea’s unmatched passion for the game, with Korean-speaking streams reaching 1.1 million peak viewers, the highest of all languages. English followed at 736,967, while Vietnamese fans showed remarkable engagement with 697,114 peak viewers, nearly equal to English numbers. Spanish and Chinese-language streams peaked at 260,736 and 236,681, respectively.
Another reason for the event’s success was the newly introduced double-elimination format and Fearless Draft rules, which added layers of strategy and unpredictability to the matches. These changes resulted in numerous nail-biting best-of-five series that kept fans glued to their screens throughout the tournament.
On the streaming front, YouTube overtook Twitch as the top platform for MSI 2025, boasting nearly 2 million peak viewers compared to Twitch’s 800,000. This marks a significant shift in how esports audiences consume content, possibly driven by YouTube’s broader accessibility and mobile optimization.
Notably, Marc ‘Caedrel’ Lamont solidified his position as the premier LoL co-streamer. His channel reached over 256,000 concurrent viewers, with an average of 127,779, reflecting the growing impact of community-driven content in the esports ecosystem.
Beyond the top teams, Anyone’s Legend (17.8M hours watched) and G2 Esports (13.6M) also drew large followings. G2’s strong numbers came despite a lackluster performance, showcasing the team’s enduring popularity in the West, helped in part by their extended play-in stage presence.
With MSI wrapped up, attention now shifts to the Esports World Cup, where all ten MSI squads will be joined by Cloud9 (LCS) and Hanwha Life Esports (LCK). They’ll battle it out for a $2 million prize pool, promising even more high-stakes action for fans worldwide.
MSI 2025 was not only a competitive milestone but also a cultural touchstone that underscored the evolving dynamics of global League of Legends viewership and content consumption.
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