The French LFL (Ligue Française de League of Legends) is undergoing a challenging transformation period. Since the departure of Karmine Corp’s core roster, viewership has consistently declined, top teams have lost popularity, and community casting struggles to make up for the lost audience. This trend mirrors issues experienced by the Spanish Superliga.
summer season
The LFL Summer 2024 season, which spanned just over two months and concluded with the grand finals in early August, saw Team BDS Academy dominate the group stage with 17 wins out of 18 matches. Losing only once to an underdog team. Karmine Corp Blue finished in second place with 15 victories. While these results confirmed the teams’ status as favorites, the performance of Gentle Mates was a significant letdown. Gotaga’s team ended the group stage in eighth place and failed to make the playoffs. A stark contrast to their third-place finish the previous season and their representation at the EMEA Masters.
As in the spring season, the LFL Summer 2024 championship was contested between Team BDS Academy and Karmine Corp Blue. Karmine Corp Blue won the upper bracket final 3-0, but Team BDS Academy triumphed in the grand final with a 3-1 victory, marking their first championship title in their fourth LFL finals appearance.
The LFL Summer 2024 season experienced a drop in viewership, with a total of 3.9 million Hours Watched and an average of 31,200 concurrent viewers per match—both the league’s lowest figures since 2020. A peak viewership of 135,500 was also among the lowest in recent years.
top five
The top five most-watched matches of LFL Summer 2024 all featured Karmine Corp Blue. Notably, none of these included games between Karmine Corp Blue and Team BDS, even excluding their grand final series. The most popular match was between Karmine Corp Blue and Gentle Mates, covered by well-known French streamers kamet0 and Gotaga.
A decline in viewership can be attributed to several factors. The league’s heavy dependence on one or two high-profile teams, such as the now-departed Karmine Corp, has been problematic. Although Gentle Mates, led by popular streamer Gotaga, offered some relief, their poor performance in LFL Summer 2024 led to a loss of community engagement and a further drop in viewership.
viewership
Viewership on major broadcast channels also declined. The official otplol_ channel averaged 27,400 viewers in LFL Summer 2023, but this dropped to 21,600 viewers in LFL Summer 2024. Similarly, kamet0’s channel saw a decrease from an average of 48,500 to 30,000 viewers.
Another growing concern is the high number of foreign players in the league. While this issue is less severe than in the Spanish Superliga, it still contributes to a loss of local identity. Additionally, there is a need to expand broadcast languages and platforms, as currently, 99% of the league’s viewership comes from French Twitch streams, with no English-language broadcasts or streams on other platforms.
Comparing the LFL Summer 2024 to the previous year reveals a significant decline: Total Hours Watched fell by 22%, the average number of viewers per broadcast dropped by 17%, and peak viewership decreased by 9.1%.
Despite this being one of the weakest seasons in the league’s history, it may be a temporary setback. As the LFL continues to evolve, the upcoming season will be critical for assessing its future trajectory. The 2025 viewership figures will provide a clearer picture, and Riot Games may need to invest more in enhancing the popularity of these leagues both locally and globally.