LPL Split 3 Viewership Drops 23%; Anyone’s Legend Wins

Anyone’s Legend defeated Bilibili Gaming 3–1 in the LPL 2026 Split 3 Grand Final on Sept. 21, securing the league’s sole direct slot for the 2026 World Championship. The final reached a peak concurrent viewership of 177,274.

Average viewership for the split declined 23.14% compared with the same split in 2025. Peak viewership for the Grand Final was 7.77% lower than the 2025 final. Total Hours Watched for Split 3 were 7.07 million, a 37.6% decrease year on year. These figures are preliminary and may be updated. The numbers exclude concurrent-viewer statistics from Chinese livestream platforms, which use different public metrics.

Organizers reduced the number of regular-season matches for Split 3, lowering the total match volume compared with prior seasons. The reduced match count contributed to the drop in total watch time. Across the 2026 season, Split 2 and Split 3 each failed to reach 200,000 peak viewers; the third split finished as the second-least popular event among the most recent eight events in the series.

Only one direct Worlds slot was awarded through the split. Remaining Chinese berths were determined by season championship points and a Regional Finals tournament held alongside the Playoffs. Bilibili Gaming secured a Worlds spot by finishing the season with the most championship points. Top Esports Gaming and Invictus Gaming qualified through the Regional Finals, taking the final two LPL places for Worlds.

The number of unique broadcasting channels covering the LPL fell across each split in 2026. International coverage has included commentators Marc ‘Caedrel’ Lamont, Gustavo ‘Baiano’ Gomes and Niklot ‘Tolkin’ Stüber on wider platforms. By peak viewers among regional qualifiers for the 2026 World Championship, the LPL ranked fourth; two regional circuits remain ongoing and their peak numbers are not final.

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