Last year, under the new broadly unpopular moniker the “LTA North,” the North American
LoL League saw one of its worst viewership years ever. But this year, according to data from the site
Esports Charts, viewership may be making a moderate comeback. Coinciding perhaps with the return of the iconic LCS branding, the LCS Lock-In tournament to kick off 2026 saw a serious influx that could be a hopeful indicator for
LoL fans in the region. While the split’s average viewers remains very close to 2025 Split 1’s, the peak viewers stat is up hugely: LCS Lock-In’s about 184k peak reaching over 40k more viewers than LTAN 2025 Split 1’s about 149k.
An increase of the mode, the highest value in the data set, without a substantial increase in the average, doesn’t suggest that many more people are tuning in, usually. But it does tell us that at the league’s most exciting, the numbers have seriously gone up. This climactic moment was of course the Grand Finals. The total 184,969 viewers was achieved during the LYON versus C9 best-of-five series, a tense finish to the split that had added tension, given its deciding the one qualifying team to First Stand.
Comparing last year’s cross-regional finals
For a fair comparison, the numbers need to be examined more closely, as the formats between 2025 and 2026 differ significantly. During the first split of the LTA, playoffs led into cross-regional play, and the cross-conference match between Cloud9 and LOUD reached 291,282 peak viewers, a much higher number. Interestingly, however, the grand final between two North American teams, 100 Thieves and Team Liquid, peaked at 170,313 viewers—lower than this year’s final.
Several factors could explain this solid rise in peak viewership, like, for instance, the aforementioned naming and branding shifts. It’s possible that people looking for the LCS simply failed to recognize its new name and so did not watch. Other aspects, like the ever-growing base of costream-watchers, certainly made a seismic impact. A large share of viewers, especially in the final, came from Marc “Caedrel” Lamont’s costream, with his LCS coverage largely beginning at the split’s end. Caedrel’s contributions, LEC post-stream redirects, and other sources leading in to the LCS are all contributing variables towards the overall stat.
The LCS Lock-In numbers may seem similar, both averaging around 90k viewers, to the LTAN Split 1 figures. But with the huge difference in peaks, and the rest of the year to come, time will tell if the LCS is truly as back as it may seem. The LTAN, last year, experienced the each-split viewership decline typical of pro LoL leagues over the course of the year. If the revived LCS can manage to decline less, and set up a good foundation for a growing, healthy league again, then there’s much to look forward to for NA LoL fans.
