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The third match on the first day of League of Legends LEC 2022 season was between G2 Esports and Excel. This was the opening match for both teams, but it seems to have broken a massive record.
According to the CEO of G2 Esports, the match broke an all-time viewership record for Week 1 of the LEC. That would be highly impressive considering G2 Esports made three roster changes during the off-season and that the match was against a relatively smaller opponent.
This record is obviously not an all-time high as that distinction goes to the finals of the LEC where viewership often touches one million. However, it is definitely huge for the first week of the tournament.
G2 Esports vs Excel on League of Legends LEC 2022 Day 1 (January 14) was all-time highest grossing game
G2 Esports is definitely one of the biggest League of Legends teams out there. However, Excel is definitely not that massive when compared to other big organizations like Fnatic or the MAD Lions.
Therefore, the viewership record simply showcases the massive fanbase that G2 Esports currently have. According to the data, the total viewership for this match peaked at 515k, which is higher than any other game on Day 1.
It's second only to G2 Esports vs Fnatic during Week 3 of League of Legends LEC's 2021 season, when the viewership peaked at 582k. These statistics obviously only include the regular season and not the playoffs.
So as soon as the match was over, G2 Esports' flamboyant CEO Carlos Rodriguez claimed on Twitter that they have broken an all-time Week 1 record. As of now, no one has opposed this statistic, so it can be considered true.
G2 Esports signed three new players during the 2022 season, including Flakked and Targamas, who are rookies on the LEC scene. They also signed Brokenblade, a mainstay on the professional scene for quite some time.
However, none of these players have come close to the likes of Mikyx, Rekkles and Wunder, whom G2 Esports let go during the off-season. Therefore, it is safe to say that the team lost quite a lot of star attraction on paper.
It seems, though, that this aspect did not faze their fans as they all came down to support their favorite team more than ever. They will no doubt be hoping G2 Esports continues to get even bigger viewership numbers in the future.
