The LCK returned on April 2 with Round 1-2, the opening phase of the 2025 split. And for the opening match, nothing better than a rematch of the LCK Cup final between Hanwha Life Esports and Gen.G. The matchup drew over 500,000 viewers, all tuning in to watch Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon and his squad crush HLE 2-0 in under an hour.

The LCK continues to lead the way in viewership numbers, especially as other major leagues post rather underwhelming figures. The only game of the Spring Split to surpass one million viewers saw Gen.G face off against T1 on the morning of April 6, with Gen.G emerging victorious in front of 1,577,919 viewers. It’s worth noting that none of the numbers mentioned in this article include viewership from Chinese streaming platforms, and all data comes from Esports Charts.

As usual, the LCK's statistics are dominated by T1, who also occupy the second spot on the podium with their first BO3 of the week against DRX on April 4. However, this series failed to reach the one million viewer mark. KT Rolster vs. HLE rounded out the top three with 566,186 viewers, nearly three times fewer than the most-watched match of the week, despite the growing excitement surrounding Hanwha Life Esports.

Reasons for LCK Round 1-2's Viewership drop

Typically, the LCK operates with two splits, so the introduction of a third split in Korea could negatively impact the league’s viewership numbers. This drop can also be attributed to the excitement generated by the Winter Split and the LCK Cup, which, although not part of the official split, brought in fresh energy with new rosters, players' movements, and a brand-new format. The fact that people hadn’t seen competitive League of Legends since the 2024 Worlds won by T1 likely contributed to the increased viewership of the LCK Cup, which is the classic boost seen at the start of each split in January.

Another factor could be the LCK’s scheduling, which isn’t always ideal for the European audience—who sometimes have to wake up very early to catch the first BO3, especially since some matches are played during the week. The fifth most-watched match of the opening week was KT vs. Dplus KIA, played right before the T1 vs. Gen.G clash. While 1.5 million viewers tuned in for the latter, the former reached "only" 473,929 viewers—many were there to watch Heo "ShowMaker" Su and DK win their second Best-of-three of the week.

These figures and comparisons shouldn't be taken too heavily—they're mostly useful as benchmarks. As the split progresses, viewership is expected to rise, as the stakes grow to determine which teams will represent Korea at MSI in Vancouver, Canada, and at the EWC in Saudi Arabia.