Record breaking audiences watch EDward Gaming take LOL World Championship 2021

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Over 4 million tuned in, excluding Chinese viewership.

An image of the summoner's cup being hoisted at League of Legends Worlds 2021.
(Image credit: Riot Games via Getty Images)

Chinese team EDward Gaming (EDG) has claimed the Summoner's Cup in the League of Legends World Championship 2021, beating out rivals DWG KIA for the organization's first win at Worlds. EDG won the five game series 3 to 2, with not even one of the games being anything but an evenly matched back-and-forth struggle. The match drew over 4 million viewers outside of China, with a very likely millions more to come once those figures are tallied.

EDG's mid lane player, Scout, received the MVP award for the Worlds final series. 

EDG was an underdog in this matchup, not only having never appeared at a Worlds final before, but going up against DWG KIA. DWG won last year's Worlds, and a win this year would have cemented the team as only the second in history to win two consecutive Worlds matches. The stakes were even higher for Khan, one of DWG's star players, as he was called up to military service in his native South Korea and will be forced to retire.

Chinese League fans were notably thrilled, despite the game being 2AM local time, and videos of celebration in the streets flooded even non-Chinese social media.

Jonathan Bolding
Contributor

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.

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