LCS Lock-In Opening Week Sees 18% Drop in Viewership Compared to LTA North

The first week of the LCS Lock-In resumed on January 24 with four BO3s featuring the league’s eight North American teams, marked by several absences and substitutions due to visa issues for non-American players. Viewership declined, with the peak dropping from 149,876 for the opening of the 2025 LTA North to 122,495 for the 2026 LCS Lock-In opener, according to Esports Charts.

Average viewership also decreased, falling from 89,217 in 2025 for LTA North Split 1 to 84,223 this week. Among the four BO3s, the matchup between Cloud9, led by Eain “APA” Stearns, and his former team, Team Liquid, drew the week’s peak viewership, with the American midlaner coming out on top in the series.

Compared to other Western leagues, the LCS lags behind the LEC and CBLOL. The first week of the LEC saw a peak of 476,379 viewers during Karmine Corp vs Los Ratones on the third day of the opening week—Kamel “Kameto” Kebir on one side, Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont on the other—naturally driving strong numbers that keep the LEC afloat.

In the CBLOL, viewership is slightly above the LCS, with a peak of 186,689 during paiN Gaming vs LOUD. The other four matches also outperformed the top LCS opener, including nearly 180,000 for Vivo Keyd Stars vs paiN, 160,000 for paiN vs RED Canids, and the same figure for FURIA vs LOUD.

In the East, the numbers are very different. In the LCK, for example, the LCK Cup has already drawn over 1.1 million viewers for the match between T1 and Hanwha Life Esports, with an average of 400,000 viewers. Two other matches also surpassed one million viewers: T1 vs DRX and T1 vs BNK FearX. As usual, statistics from Chinese streaming platforms are not available, so no reliable viewership figures for the LPL can be provided.