Worlds 2019: G2 vs. SKT semifinals break esports viewership records

Almost four million viewers tuned in to watch the 2019 League of Legends World Championship semifinals series between SK Telecom T1 and G2 Esports on Sunday, November 3, according to EScharts.

With 3,985,787 peak viewers recorded during the four-game series, the semifinal matchup smashed the League of Legends viewership record that was broken last week during the quarterfinal series between SKT and Splyce (2,518,157 peak viewers).

The series didn’t just break records for League of Legends, however.

In July, the Fortnite World Cup 2019 Finals broke esports viewership records and became the most-watched esports event of all-time, recording 2,334,826 peak viewers. The stream, which lasted for 20 hours, racked up an incredible 22,708,434 hours watched.

With almost four million peak viewers tuning in for SKT vs. G2, the Worlds 2019 semifinals dwarfed the Fortnite World Cup, and almost doubled the peak viewership that was seen during the League of Legends World Championship in 2018 and 2017.

3 985 787 peak viewers on final game @T1LoL vs @G2esports, #Worlds2019. Stats excluding Chinese platforms and TV. This is a new record for esports events. #LoL @lolesports @riotgames

More stats soon on site:https://t.co/byd1pHvDYH pic.twitter.com/WevwVqzBvZ

— Esports Charts 🇺🇦 (@EsportsCharts) November 3, 2019

SKT has now featured in three of the five most-watched games (peak viewership) throughout Worlds 2019.

1. SKT T1 vs. G2 Esports (3,985,787) – Semifinals
2. SKT T1 vs. Splyce (2,518,157) – Quarterfinals
3. G2 Esports vs. Damwon Gaming (2,129,507) – Quarterfinals
4. Invictus Gaming vs. FunPlus Phoenix (2,094,802) – Semifinals
5. SKT T1 vs. Royal Never Give Up (2,062,393) – Group Stage, Day 2

ESCharts sources data from Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, VK Live, Afreeca TV, Garena Live, Sports Naver, and Nonolive to calculate viewership numbers. Statistics do not include Chinese platforms and TV.

The peak viewership record was set at 14:40, with 1,137,669 English viewers, 1,104,002 Korean viewers, and 520,103 Vietnamese viewers.

YouTube was host to the highest viewership numbers with 1,942,302 peak viewers. Twitch peak viewers reached 1,563,914.

The Worlds 2019 Final takes place on November 10 and will be contested by G2 Esports and FunPlus Phoenix.