The League of European Champions (LEC) Grand Final between MAD Lions KOI and G2 Esports stands as a significant event for the European League of Legends. Many notable moments occured during the fourth game, however, dismay set in when the main stream experienced an unanticipated downtime.
Teams such as Karmine Corp and MAD Lions KOI amassed significant popularity resulting in increased viewership for LEC, despite a worldwide decrease in League of Legends streams overall. The newfound enthusiasm of their fanbase has injected renewed vigor into the League of Legends ecosystem.
Riot, the developers of the game, had enforced substantial layoffs within the LEC, instigating considerable apprehension. The fear was rooted in concerns about the broadcast's future production quality, considering the success this league had already achieved.
Since the layoffs, the LEC had managed to rein in major technical issues. Unfortunately, calamity hit during the climax of the LEC Grand Final between G2 and MAD Lions KOI. The stream went dead for nearly ten minutes, led to key moments of the final game going unnoticed by many viewers.
Key Moments Missed Due to Main Broadcast Failure
The main LEC stream was the only one affected by this interruption. The screen went blank briefly before the stream was pulled down entirely, resuming just as G2 was heading for a win. This resulted in several sections of the match being missed by a portion of the audience.
Large group watch parties and viewers utilizing smart TVs or console applications faced considerable difficulty shifting to a co-stream. This appalling situation left them stranded with a nonresponsive stream.
Yet, during this calamity, Caedrel’s stream served as a beacon, attracting over 100k viewers. The uninterrupted broadcast on Caedrel’s stream ensured that LEC viewership did not wane during the remaining minutes of the match. As a result, Caedrel’s stream peaked with approximately 175k viewers as the main LEC stream lay dormant.
The Tide-Turning Pentakill Missed
The timing of the stream failure was extraordinarily unfortunate. As the broadcast dipped, Yike achieved a Pentakill, essentially determining the outcome of the match. The culmination of this allowed G2 to secure victory. Regrettably, due to the ill-timed broadcast glitch, many viewers missed one of the most thrilling moments of the year.
Co-streamers like Caedrel played a vital role in ensuring the ardently committed fans did not miss the action. However, the main stream's unforeseen failure did not bode well given co-streamers are gaining popularity by the day.
Considering the recent occurrence of LEC layoffs, the broadcast debacle underlined the significant hit the LEC took. It’s clear that the absence of their critical team members has left the remaining crews struggling with a task of such magnitude.