MSI's opening day sees huge gain in viewership

The first day of the play-in stage at the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2024 in Chengdu, China, on Wednesday drew more than 1.5 million peak viewers -- the best opening-day total in the event's history.

The two matches on Wednesday -- FlyQuest beating PSG Talon and T1 defeating Estral Esports -- totaled approximately 4.8 million hours watched, a 58 percent increase from last year's tournament kickoff. Only the 2021 edition's first day attracted more total viewers.

During the T1-Estral match, peak viewership topped 1.5 million viewers -- a 55 percent increase over last year's first day. The 1.5 million viewers also surpassed the opening day of all previous Mid-Season Invitationals.

The time zone played a factor in boosting the viewership, as Korean fans were able to tune in and watch South Korean team T1.