The inaugural LCK Cup has made its debut in early 2025, marking a new chapter in Korean professional League of Legends. This preseason tournament, recently introduced by Riot Games, has generated significant viewer interest according to data from Esports Charts.
The tournament serves a dual purpose – it mirrors the winter season format seen in other regions while also determining which team will represent the LCK at First Stand 2025, Riot’s newest international competition. First Stand 2025 will feature top performers from major leagues including the LEC, LCP, LPL, and LTA Cross-Conference, with teams competing for advantageous seeding at the Mid-Season Invitational 2025.
The LCK Cup introduces innovative competitive elements. Teams are divided into two groups, with matches only occurring between groups rather than within them. The group accumulating more total victories secures better playoff positioning. Perhaps most intriguingly, the tournament utilizes the Fearless Draft system, where each champion can only be selected once per series. This draft format, previously tested in China’s LDL, is now expanding to several major competitions including the LCP Split 1 and Prime League Winter.
Viewership data
Viewership data from the first week reveals strong engagement, with total Hours Watched exceeding 8.4 million. Broadcasts averaged 320,259 concurrent viewers, with peak viewership surpassing 1 million during a highly anticipated match between T1 and Dplus KIA, which Dplus won 2-1. Other popular matchups included T1 versus DRX and Gen.G facing Hanwha Life Esports, though neither reached the heights of T1’s initial appearance.
When comparing these numbers to LCK Spring 2024, there are some notable trends. Overall viewership has seen moderate declines – average viewership dropped 14.25% while peak viewership decreased by 15.56%. Korean language broadcasts experienced the steepest decline at approximately 25%, with English broadcasts showing a more modest 16% reduction. However, Vietnamese viewership has bucked this trend, actually surpassing the numbers from both 2024 splits, driven largely by growing popularity on TikTok streaming platforms.
While the LCK Cup hasn’t broken viewership records, it has maintained solid audience numbers throughout its first week. The tournament’s unique format and championship implications should continue to drive interest as competition progresses.
