The CBLoL, the top level of professional League of Legends in Brazil, is getting more viewers than NA’s LCS so far this summer, according to statistics from Esports Charts.
On June 7, the Brazilian League tournament reached a peak of 336,349 viewers with 183,127 average viewers. The LCS, on the other hand, had a peak of 317,908 and 175,936 average viewers on June 13.
These numbers reflect each league’s viewership during the first week of the Summer Split. But when compared to last year’s numbers, the difference was much higher by the end of the Summer Split. The CBLoL reached a peak of 284,469 viewers while the LCS registered a peak of 494,765, according to Esports Charts.
Riot released a higher number than Esports Charts did for the LCS, though, with a reported peak of 338,000 viewers in week one of the 2020 Summer Split. But that’s expected since Esports Charts tends to have lower numbers for the LCS. Riot didn’t release stats for the CBLoL.
The CBLoL’s average viewership has almost doubled compared to last year. That difference indicates an increased interest from Brazil’s viewership in the tournament, probably due to big Brazilian soccer franchises like Flamengo and Santos creating their own League teams.
Flamengo was the champion of last year’s CBLoL. Bot laner Felipe “brTT” Gonçalveshe is the most notable player in the league with five CBLoL titles, more than any Brazilian League player. He now plays for paiN Gaming, which has one of the biggest Brazilian fan bases.
His most succesful run was during 2015. At Worlds, paiN were seeded into Group A along with Flash Wolves, KOO Tigers, and Counter Logic Gaming. They picked up two wins in the group, against eventual group winners Flash Wolves in the first week and then against CLG in the second week, and their 2-4 overall record and 1-1 head-to-head with CLG left them tied for third place, not advancing from groups. Despite their immediate elimination, paiN’s group stage run was seen as a major success: they were the first Wildcard team to win more than one game at a World Championship and also the first Wildcard team to finish higher than sole possession of last place in their group. Additionally, they looked good in some of their losses: their second game against Flash Wolves lasted 52 minutes and could have gone either way at multiple points.
While this is great for the Brazilian professional scene, what does it mean for North America? Does it mean people are losing interest in League overall?
