Split – Gaming Master

LCS Spring Split has all-time low viewership, and it’s because it’s a bit depressing to watch

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:50:23 +0000

Riot Games was willing to give us the League Championship Series (LCS) back after the disastrous LTA experiment. But it looks like Riot was right after all about LCS: the League of Legends esports scene doesn’t care about it.

LCS Spring 2026 peaked at only 183,152 live viewers, according to Esports Charts, making it the least-viewed LCS season to date.

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Riot Has Some Solutions For Low LCS Viewership, But It May Be Too Late

The LoL Esports scene was relieved when Riot finally gave in and brought back the LCS. The LTA rebrand was highly criticized by the esports community, with many feeling it didn’t really click with fans. Viewership drastically dropped.

Back in June 2025, Carlos Antunes, Head of League of Legends Esports Americas, spoke with Esports Insider about the backlash: “We knew things might start off slower — it takes time for people to get used to something new.

“And bringing them back — and introducing new fans — is going to take continued effort.”

But I guess Riot didn’t feel like putting in that effort, bringing the LCS back shortly after. Unfortunately, it didn’t win back fans. In fact, many had already left and refused to return.

For the second split in a row, the North American region didn’t surpass 200,000 peak viewers. And it didn’t really seem to matter which teams were playing or how exciting the matches were. Or how much was at stake. The average viewership remained around 64,000, a 29% drop from Lock-In a few months ago.

A major reason is co-streamers. We’ve debated the legitimacy of co-stream viewership at Esports Insider before, following incidents like this. Portuguese-language broadcasts and co-streamers used to really boost LCS’ viewership, but Esports Charts noted a 75% collapse in watch time. Were people actually watching the LCS back then? Or were they just watching whatever their favorite streamers were watching? As I previously argued, it doesn’t seem like the streamers’ fanbase has translated into a legitimate LCS fanbase that tunes in on its own time.

The LCS is just not that compelling to watch. You know how it ends: they won’t have any chance against teams in Europe and Asia, and they won’t qualify for the World Championship. It’s sort of like watching a suspense thriller film, knowing exactly who the killer is before you even sit down with your popcorn.

Riot is hoping to make the LCS a bit more interesting by bringing back best-of-three round-robin for the Summer Split. The playoff for that split will also be held at the Gas South Arena in Atlanta in front of a live crowd, which Riot is hoping will increase the hype. But I just don’t think it will completely turn it around. The LCS is cooked.

While there are some fun teams to watch, some juicy storylines, and some wild plays, it’s tough to feel invested when you know you’re essentially watching the “worst of the best.” Everything that feels impressive to watch during the LCS will be easily wiped by the LEC and LCK teams later. It’s just a bit disheartening. Not only are you watching a slow death, but you are watching a slow death of a team you are growing fond of.

It’s just a bit depressing.

The post LCS Spring Split has all-time low viewership, and it’s because it’s a bit depressing to watch appeared first on Esports Insider.

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Apple might be planning to bring a split your expense feature with iOS 27

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 03:50:40 +0000

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Apple is reportedly preparing to turn the iPhone into an even bigger financial hub with a new built-in bill splitting feature designed for group dinners, travel expenses, and shared payments. According to a report from Mark Gurman, the company plans to announce the feature at WWDC next week as part of iOS 27.

The new tool would allow users to photograph a restaurant receipt, automatically calculate individual shares including tax and tips, assign items to specific people, and send payment requests directly through Apple Cash. The feature is expected to work inside both the Wallet app and Messages, with payment approvals also supported through the Apple Watch.

Apple is quietly expanding its financial ecosystem again

The bill-splitting tool represents another major step in Apple’s long-running effort to deepen the iPhone’s role in personal finance. Since launching Apple Pay in 2014, Apple has steadily expanded into financial services with products like Apple Card, Apple Cash, savings accounts, and Tap to Pay for businesses.

This latest addition appears aimed directly at younger users who increasingly manage shared expenses digitally instead of using cash or traditional banking tools.

The system reportedly works by scanning a receipt using the iPhone camera, identifying individual items, calculating tax and tip allocations, and then generating payment requests automatically. Users can then settle balances through Apple Cash without needing separate third-party apps.

Apple is also reportedly working on custom digital pass creation inside Wallet, allowing users to generate their own event passes, gym cards, and digital credentials directly on-device.

Apple’s move also puts it in direct competition with established expense-sharing and peer-to-peer payment platforms. Splitwise, one of the most widely used bill-splitting apps globally, has surpassed 10 million monthly active users and has helped users manage more than $90 billion in shared expenses since 2011.

Meanwhile, Venmo continues to process more than $275 billion in annual payment volume, while Cash App reports roughly 57 million monthly active users. By integrating bill splitting directly into Wallet, Messages, Apple Cash, and Apple Watch, Apple is attempting to remove the need for separate apps altogether and keep more financial activity inside its ecosystem.

Apple’s biggest advantage, however, may be integration. Unlike standalone apps, the new feature would be deeply built into iOS, Messages, Wallet, Apple Watch, and Apple Cash simultaneously.

Why this Matters

Apple appears increasingly focused on making the iPhone central to everyday financial activity. Bill splitting may sound small compared to AI announcements or hardware launches, but these kinds of ecosystem features often strengthen long-term user retention more effectively than flashy upgrades.

The move could also pressure third-party expense-sharing apps that currently rely on convenience as their biggest selling point. If Apple can make splitting payments frictionless across iPhones, many casual users may stop downloading separate apps entirely.

At the same time, Apple’s financial expansion has faced challenges. The Apple Card partnership with Goldman Sachs has struggled financially, and Apple previously shut down its buy-now-pay-later offering less than a year after launch.

What happens next

Apple is expected to officially reveal the new bill-splitting feature during WWDC alongside broader iOS 27 announcements focused heavily on AI, Siri upgrades, and Apple Intelligence. The update is also expected to include AI-powered photo editing tools, a redesigned Siri experience, and deeper Wallet integration across Apple devices.

If the feature works smoothly, Apple may end up doing what it often does best: turning a separate app category into a built-in iPhone feature that millions of users adopt simply because it is already there.

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