LCK Facing Collapse: $30 Million Loss in 3 Years

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In simpler terms, the League of Legends competition that’s considered Korea’s top tier, known as the LCK, is facing significant financial struggles. It’s spending money at an alarming rate, resulting in annual losses measured in billions of South Korean Won.

If financial specialists are correct, the League (LCK) could completely disintegrate unless it broadens its income sources, as the league’s actual profitability is expected to plummet dramatically in 2024.

2024 marked the most unprofitable year in LCK’s history, with record-breaking losses. It seems unlikely that significant improvements have been made by 2025.

The popularity of esports in League of Legends is soaring, particularly the LCK which has never been more sought-after this year. Major matches have attracted over 2 million simultaneous viewers. Yet, despite the massive audience and interest in the league, it’s not resulting in significant financial gains.

Experts fear LCK may collapse

As a gaming enthusiast, diving back into League of Legends in 2025, I’m witnessing a significant transformation across almost every professional league. Riot Games seems to be focusing on making these leagues more sustainable for the long haul. With the public release of financial reports for the LCK, we’re getting a glimpse behind the curtain into some of the reasons why.

The LCK Corporation’s reported losses are as follows for each year:

  • 2022: 8.1 billion KRW (~$5,621,000 USD)
  • 2023: 13.2 billion KRW (~$9,161,000 USD)
  • 2024: 28.5 billion KRW (~$19,780,000 USD)

As a result, the total accumulated loss amounts to approximately 42.7 billion Korean Won (equivalent to around 29,635,000 USD), with a significant portion occurring specifically in the year 2024.

As a passionate fan, I’d like to highlight that while Riot Games may report losses with the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re losing money overall. In fact, they’ve taken steps to reduce operational costs for LCK teams by lowering membership fees and introducing profit sharing to help these teams stay financially stable.

This consideration includes the point that the LCK (League Champions Korea) features T1 (Team Liberty), which is widely recognized as one of the most popular esports teams globally.

Or,

I’ve taken into account the aspect that the LCK includes T1, a team known as one of the world’s most popular in esports.

As a dedicated fan, I can’t help but notice that the significant setback in 2024 was likely due to the collapse of our long-term streaming exclusivity agreement with Huya. This partnership had been a financial lifeline for the LCK for quite some time.

In addition, they conducted the Valorant Champions tournament in Seoul at the League of Legends (LoL) park arena, which resulted in operational expenses that were included in the LCK Corporation’s financial reports. However, there’s a possibility that this event generated profit for Riot Games, despite being reported as a loss.

To put it another way, even though the LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea) isn’t likely to crumble right away, there are concerns among experts that this current trajectory might not be viable in the long run.

According to a recent report by DealSite, while e-sports are expanding in popularity, they haven’t established a sustainable revenue model yet. This has made it particularly challenging for teams participating in the LCK, who have invested significantly over the years. Consequently, Riot Korea is facing increased costs due to this situation.

Given the decline in viewership for many leagues excluding LCK following Riot’s reorganization, it’s possible that some regions may be experiencing an even steeper drop-off in popularity.

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2025-04-28 00:18