It’s been an unprecedented year at the LCS, full of some of the most extreme challenges we have faced as a broadcast team and in our daily lives. We’ve been humbled by, and grateful for, the support that the LCS community has shown us this Summer. As our representing NA teams start their Worlds journeys this week, we want to look back and recognize what was truly a once-in-a-lifetime LCS season.
The LCS’s new double-elimination Summer Playoffs format and adjustment to Worlds qualification led to multiple edge-of-our-seat moments with some of the best displays of talent and determination our league has seen. Thanks to the new format, fans had a chance to head-bang **five times** to “Silver Scrapes” this Playoffs -- **a new record for the LCS**.
With the increased Average Minute Audience during the regular season, and in large part because of the refreshed Playoffs format, **total hours watched** for Summer Split were **nearly 35 million** (34,667,939), an **increase of almost 72% (71.85%)** from 2019. This helped make the 2020 Summer Split the **most watched since 2016**.
The Playoffs excitement carried into the Summer Finals, which saw an **Average Minute Audience** of nearly **485K (484,992)**, up 27.47% from Summer 2019. So overall, including the regular season and postseason, **peak viewership hit 551,679** this Split, an **increase of 12.4%** from 2019.
On behalf of the entire LCS staff and remote broadcast crew -- thank you for your support.
We’ll see you at the start of the 2020 World Championships on September 25!
