LCS fans were treated to a great set of matches this past weekend when the 2021 LCS Summer Split kicked off and viewership numbers were equally as good for the league. In fact, the first week of the new season saw a peak of 262,000 viewers during Team Liquid’s day three match against Cloud9, according to Esports Charts.
It makes plenty of sense that C9 and Liquid had the highest viewership of the weekend since this was a rematch of the previous split finals. But the rosters for both teams looked a tad different with each side having benched one of their most important players.
Liquid moved superstar top laner Alphari over to the Academy team this weekend to try out Jenkins in the role instead, while C9 were starting former OCE AD carry k1ng over the team’s star marksman, Zven. Even though these moves left many fans scratching their heads, it was clear that C9 had plenty of firepowers left in the tank to outplay their opponents.
Related: Cloud9 find first win of 2021 LCS Summer Split in convincing victory over Team Liquid
It also didn’t help that Perkz played in the top lane for this match, which was an unfortunate trial by fire for Liquid’s 21-year-old rookie. Jenkins ended the game with no kills and four deaths when he faced off against Perkz’s Sylas. C9 dominated the game from start to finish with superior cross-map play and aggression. They also continuously won teamfights since Liquid lacked enough damage to overcome the lead that their opponents had accrued through the early game.
Surprisingly, the match with the second-highest viewership peak was between FlyQuest and Evil Geniuses, which racked up a peak of 256,000 people. This match was far from clean between the two teams, however, because both squads continued to throw their lead back and forth between each other.
The Summer Split action should continue to ramp up when the league continues on Friday, June 11.
Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more esports news and analysis.
Source: https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/first-week-of-2021-lcs-summer-split-hits-peak-viewership-of-262000-during-liquid-vs-c9
