Introduction: The S15 season is over, and the vast majority of players have been paying attention to the recent transfer period. The teams in the two main regions are mostly set, though a few are still rebuilding. Right now, the LPL's popularity is very unstable; LCK's continuous victories have made many fans doubt the LPL. Recently, industry insider Hanyi also spoke about pay-to-watch, even expressing hope that LPL fans develop a paying mindset to ensure a healthy ecosystem. This sparked widespread ridicule from players, who mocked the league as worthless—no results, no glory, just lucky to watch, and now they want us to pay?

LPL fans need to develop awareness of paying to watch games

Most players are quite familiar with the LPL region, which was once a top-tier global league, having won the World Championship three times. In recent years, as the league has grown rapidly, the LPL's overall performance and stability have declined significantly, frustrating many fans. Industry insider Hanyi recently mentioned something surprising during a live chat—he suggested introducing pay-to-watch for LPL games, which immediately triggered widespread mockery online. Fans feel watching their matches is already a favor, yet they are being asked to pay.

Let's look at the discussion between Hanyi and Zhu Kai. They believe the LPL’s ecosystem is currently poor. While merchandise like tickets and peripherals are well-developed, very few fans actually pay. Their observations and data suggest that female fans tend to spend more on merchandise than male fans. Most viewers lack a paying mindset. Zhu Kai, however, argued that you must win first to earn paying fans; results come before revenue. Surprisingly, this made Zhu Kai seem reasonable to some, and honestly, he appeared somewhat apologetic in the video.

Many LPL fans joked, "Why don’t you pay the audience instead? Watching LPL is already doing you a favor." Some netizens gave vivid analogies, comparing it to domestic apps that profit off users but still force ads before use. However, LPL currently has no such mandatory fees. If pay-to-watch is implemented, viewership numbers would plummet sharply. Even the LCK likely doesn't have such a huge base to support it. It seems unlikely even T1 would do this, let alone smaller LPL teams. Pay-to-watch would only hasten their downfall.

The entire LPL system is now facing problems. Everything seems driven by profit rather than improving viewer experience. The top ten Korean servers are now dominated by LCK players, with T1 academy players again topping the charts. LPL and LDL players are barely visible. Even player Guokui openly stated that most LDL teams are just going through the motions. Coupled with the impact of the boosting industry, LPL’s academy talent is declining. The only hope to save the LPL is for strong teams to break LCK’s dominance, win a world championship, and attract more young talent.

Farewell thoughts

No one expected the idea of pay-to-watch to come up. With viewership already near rock bottom, introducing payment would mean watching ghosts in the seats. Since pay-to-watch has been discussed by insiders, it feels like anything is possible just to make money.

What do you, the viewers, think about this issue?