The League of Legends World Championship is an annual tournament hosted by Riot Games which pits the best League of Legends eSports players against each other for the chance to win a large amount of money. Since 2019, the League of Legends World Championships had an average prize pool of more than two million U.S. dollars. The competition draws not just professional gamers but also avid fans of the game as well, as is evident from the large audience following the 2024 League of Legends World Championship Final, which reached 6.94 million peak concurrent viewers.
Professional eSports players’ earnings
Professional eSports players can earn a significant sum of money throughout their gaming careers. For instance, Lee Sang-Hyeok, who was the leading League of Legends player worldwide according to overall earnings, had won more than 1.8 million U.S. dollars since he began his eSports career. Looking at other games as well, Johan Sundstein was the leading eSports player worldwide based on overall earnings, having received more than seven million U.S. dollars since he started playing Dota 2 professionally. Meanwhile, Sasha Hostyn, who is well known for her achievements playing Starcraft II, was the leading female eSports player based on career earnings, having pocketed more than 400 thousand U.S. dollars since picking up the controller professionally.
League of Legends on Twitch
One way for eSports fans to tune in and watch their favorite gamers is using Twitch, a live-streaming platform which offers gaming video content in addition to various other forms of online entertainment. In the 30 days preceding December 2024, Caedrel was the leading League of Legends streamer on Twitch, having amassed close to 3.6 million viewership hours in that period. Focusing on the number of hours different games were watched within a week, League of Legends was the third most popular video game on Twitch as of January 2025, with Escape from Tarkov ranking first.
Number of viewers of League of Legends World Championship finals from 2016 to 2024
(in millions)
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Esports Charts. (January 1, 2025). Number of viewers of League of Legends World Championship finals from 2016 to 2024 (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved January 25, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/518126/league-of-legends-championship-viewers/?__sso_cookie_checker=failed
Esports Charts. "Number of viewers of League of Legends World Championship finals from 2016 to 2024 (in millions)." Chart. January 1, 2025. Statista. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/518126/league-of-legends-championship-viewers/?__sso_cookie_checker=failed
Esports Charts. (2025). Number of viewers of League of Legends World Championship finals from 2016 to 2024 (in millions). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: January 25, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/518126/league-of-legends-championship-viewers/?__sso_cookie_checker=failed
Esports Charts. "Number of Viewers of League of Legends World Championship Finals from 2016 to 2024 (in Millions)." Statista, Statista Inc., 1 Jan 2025, https://www.statista.com/statistics/518126/league-of-legends-championship-viewers/?__sso_cookie_checker=failed
Esports Charts, Number of viewers of League of Legends World Championship finals from 2016 to 2024 (in millions) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/518126/league-of-legends-championship-viewers/?__sso_cookie_checker=failed (last visited January 25, 2025)
Number of viewers of League of Legends World Championship finals from 2016 to 2024 (in millions) [Graph], Esports Charts, January 1, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/518126/league-of-legends-championship-viewers/?__sso_cookie_checker=failed