LEC 2025 Winter Split records opening week viewership decrease

theLeague of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC)The 2025 season kicked off last weekend, with viewing numbers for the Winter Split lower than the 2024 edition.

It was the most popular match Carmine Company reverse Movistar Koiwith peak viewership reaching 591,961, according to the data platform eSports Charts.

The French team continues to show its strong influence in engagement, with Karmine Corp also having the second most watched series this week versus G2 Esports (546,283).

Despite good opening viewing numbers, the 2025 Winter Split is significantly lower than last year’s opening week matchup between MAD Lions KOI and G2 Esports, Which recorded 741 thousand viewers.

Four of the top five matches of Winter Split 2024 were also held in the opening week, with numbers ranging from 619,000 to 741,000.

After the first definition Co-broadcast opportunities in 2023the 2025 LEC season continues to showcase the growing importance of community wheels. Esports personality Mark “Cedrill” Lamont topped the rankings in this category, peaking with over 100,000 viewers and an impressive average of 73,285 during the LEC’s opening week, according to Esports Charts.

Popular French streamer and co-owner of Karmine Corp, Kamel “Kamet0” Kabir, also broadcast his team’s matches during the opening week.

These viewing figures were achieved without the participation of Movistar KOI co-owner content creator, Ibai ‘ibai’ Llanos, a very popular personality who has previously broadcast LEC games.

Ibai will not be part of LEC Winter Split 2025 syndicated broadcast lineup After his decision to take a break after the end of the League of Legends 2024 World Championship.

However, the average viewership for the LEC 2025 Winter Split was 292,391, confirming strong participation at the start of the new season. By comparison, the 2024 winter season averaged 337,367 viewers, but that includes the playoffs, which typically results in higher numbers.

The LEC Winter Split was first introduced in 2023 as the third official split in the LEC season, becoming the first major region to do so.

Starting this year, the winner of the winter season will represent the European region in the latest international tournament, the First positionWhich will be held in South Korea later this March.