If you’ve been sleeping on the LCK, they’re about to show why you should start paying attention. It’s not about their players, nor is it about their teams. They wield a strong weapon that no other league has come close to perfecting: their PR (public relations).
Not a believer? There’s more than enough proof in the league’s competitive history, and they’ve started to branch to a different means to capitalize on their anticipating fanbase. Read on to know how the LCK dominated the PR space for League eSports.
LCK Viewership
The LCK has topped the charts in peak viewership (672 thousand) and total hours watched (19 million) as of writing. The region that comes second is the LEC, Europe’s main tournament.
One can attribute the LCK’s success in viewership to their investment with the international scene. Home to the only multi-season world champions with T1, they managed to build a large enough following to make their brand recognizable at first glance. When someone says “Faker”, it can easily lead to next recognizing the LCK and League of Legends itself.
In addition, South Korea is one of the best countries for eSports and is the top country for League of Legends. These are more testaments to their successful investment in an industry that continues to evolve and solidify itself in society.
The Mad Movies
Enter the Mad Movies: weekly highlights from the LCK’s post-production team. What differentiates the Mad Movies from any other League montages out there is the amount of effort done; from unique camera angles to precise capturing of inputs, these highlights show what exactly was done by the pros in a digestible manner.
The breakthrough of the Mad Movies is in Gen.G Ruler’s kiting prowess demonstrated in this Facebook clip from LOL Esports. This single clip alone has garnered over a million views and broke over 15 thousand reacts in the span of three days, and it’s clear why it has captivated the eyes of many players.
The video clip features Ruler’s Ashe against three of SANDBOX Gaming, trying to pin down Gen.G’s premier carry. Forced to retreat towards the mid lane with the focus of Aphelios, Thresh, and Trundle shifting towards him, he kites with immense speed and precision, making every click count towards his safety and his enemies’ demise. The first part is a slowed-down and zoomed-in perspective of the entire situation, followed by a full-speed replay of the amazing play.
With the Mad Movie formula of a clean streaming interface, great camera angles, and showing how exactly Ruler kited and maximized every movement he can make, on top of beating three professional players in a tournament match, it is a rarely seen outplay that made for great content.
The potential of Mad Movies
Because of the huge reach this clip of Ruler made across social networking sites, the LCK once again gains another advantage for their PR. As the league that is already on top of the numbers with viewership, the efforts of the LCK post-production team will simply bolster it further.
No other league has taken such an effort to not only spice up the replays, but also make it into a digestible format that provides micro-level insights on how the professionals move and act. It’s not obvious, but it’s a huge benefit for the average and struggling League players—groups that are likely watching the pro games to improve their own plays.
Without any competition for the PR space, the LCK continues to make their presence known. While they aren’t winning World Championships nowadays, they are winning in other ways that work best with their fanbase.
At the end of the day, their brand is already seeded deep in the League of Legends community, and they will continue to reap its benefits.
