IG's top-tier data revealed, surpassing all LPL teams; even if they lose to Faker, the league will still support them.

Greetings to all LPL fans and League of Legends summoners, welcome to Tianxia Game Report.

Tickets for the S15 World Championship are almost completely sold out, with enthusiasm as anticipated. The play-in stage has hit historic levels of hype, and the IG versus T1 battle saw ticket prices multiply over twenty times.

During this process, netizens compiled an important statistic for IG, showing a gap that leads all other LPL teams by a wide margin.

LPL's strongest data unveiled, crushing other teams.

It’s well known that IG is the traffic king of the LPL region this year, which everyone can see. IG’s match replay views are extremely high, far ahead of other teams. After analyzing all this year's data, a netizen discovered a shocking fact: IG’s total match views this year exceed the entire LPL’s views from last year.

In other words, the viewership for just IG’s matches this year equals the combined data of all teams from last year.

This phenomenon occurs partly because IG is a veteran powerhouse in the LPL with many loyal fans. Additionally, the return of The Shy and Rookie reuniting on IG has massively boosted their traffic; both are indispensable. From this perspective, IG’s approach is undoubtedly successful.

After this data was revealed, people were even more amazed by IG’s traffic this year. With such popularity, both the club and the entire region benefit from increased exposure and discussion, revitalizing the LPL scene. This highlights the importance of traffic.

Even if they lose to Faker, the league will still support them.

At the end of last year, IG formed a star-studded roster, actually encouraged by the league, which recognized the region’s biggest issue: the lack of truly top-tier star players, necessitating a team like IG.

Earlier, the LPL league witnessed the massive hype when Uzi returned. To emulate that, IG invested heavily to build this squad, and so far, the formation has proven successful.

However, as everyone knows, IG will soon face T1 in a do-or-die match— a clash between the two biggest stars from China and Korea. Only one team can advance to the top 16. Many viewers say Riot’s format change this year is ridiculous: a China-Korea play-in match forces one popular team out, which is a huge loss regardless of who loses.

There are concerns that if IG loses, they might disband by year-end, with some players possibly retiring.

But personally, after seeing IG’s traffic data, I believe people may be underestimating the team’s resilience. Even if they lose to Faker, the league will most likely continue to support them.

LPL environment analysis: balancing between supporters and critics.

Let’s analyze IG’s current situation. Given their roster and recent performance, the match against T1 looks grim, and elimination is highly probable. Being knocked out means finishing 17th in the Worlds, followed by harsh criticism.

This would mark the first time in LPL history that a team advancing to Worlds finishes 17th, effectively hitting a new low.

Players like The Shy, Wei, and Rookie would face scrutiny, but even so, IG and the LPL will likely try to keep the core lineup intact during the offseason.

Thanks to IG’s massive traffic this year, the club has enjoyed many benefits. Even if they don’t profit greatly, losses might be limited. This allows IG to maintain their roster during the transfer window and possibly make some improvements, continuing as the LPL’s top traffic team.

Many viewers say if LPL doesn’t win Worlds this year, no one will care next year. This view is mistaken. The LPL environment now leans more towards entertainment, with fans and critics creating hype. The league relies less on regional or championship fans and more on player followings. As long as players remain, discussion and interest stay high. Of course, winning Worlds would bring new popular teams.