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Riot says smurfing in League of Legends “ruins the game,” to be fixed League of Legends Riot says smurfing in League of Legends “ruins the game,” to be fixed By Olivia Richman Pobelter is returning to the LCS in the mid lane for CLG League of Legends Pobelter is returning to the LCS in the mid lane for CLG By Olivia Richman TFT patch 10.4 reimagines Glacial units, nerfs Crystal and Poison League of Legends TFT patch 10.4 reimagines Glacial units, nerfs Crystal and Poison By William Davis
LoL Patch 10.4 nerfs Sona and Soraka, expands jungle champion pool League of Legends
LoL Patch 10.4 nerfs Sona and Soraka, expands jungle champion pool William Davis It’s time for patch 10.4! As we reported before, patch 10.4 hits primarily the champions that are wreaking havoc in the top lane, Sona and Soraka. It also targets the powerful Aphelios and buffs some of the favorites in pro play. On top of that, patch 10.4 increases the jungle champion pool. Patch 10.4 is hitting the live server one day later than usual, it will be released on February …
CBLOL studio destroyed, league postponed until end of February League of Legends
CBLOL studio destroyed, league postponed until end of February Syed Mujtaba Naqvi 2020 has already been a disastrous year for esports, with a number of tournaments and events being delayed or cancelled due to unforeseen events. While most of those issues have stemmed has stemmed from the coronavirus, it’s the weather that is hitting South American League of Legends.   The 2020 CBLOL Split 1 has been postponed due to the floods and heavy rain that have hammered São Paulo, Brazil over recent …
G2 jungler Jankos admits that he’s not far from retirement League of Legends
G2 jungler Jankos admits that he’s not far from retirement Syed Mujtaba Naqvi Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski shared he might be retiring sooner than many expected. G2 Esports’ player and the best jungler in the 2020 LEC Spring Split doesn’t plan on playing competitively for much longer. In an interview with a Polish portal Esportmania, Jankos shared he’s looking to end his career relatively soon when asked about streaming. Jankos said he doesn’t get much rest as a pro player, stating there’s no time …
Faker becomes part owner of T1 with new three-year contract League of Legends
Faker becomes part owner of T1 with new three-year contract William Davis Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok extended his contract with T1 through 2022 and is now a part owner of the global organization. Every offseason the community waits for the day that Faker announces where is he playing next. Year after year, the decision is the same, to stay with T1. Now, the organization has guaranteed that Faker is not going anywhere, likely for the rest of his life. Faker is the face …
Riot’s Latin America League reveals its bold new rebrand for 2020 League of Legends Riot’s Latin America League reveals its bold new rebrand for 2020 By Olivia Richman Cloud9 destroys EG, still undefeated in the 2020 LCS Spring Split League of Legends Cloud9 destroys EG, still undefeated in the 2020 LCS Spring Split By William Davis DragonX in controversy after leaking scrim results versus Griffin League of Legends DragonX in controversy after leaking scrim results versus Griffin By William Davis
HenryG calls Riot Games’ Project A “best game since CSGO” in alpha League of Legends
HenryG calls Riot Games’ Project A “best game since CSGO” in alpha William Davis The first details about Riot Games’ Project A have been revealed. During a ten-year celebration in October 2019, Riot Games showed a glimpse of Project A, the first FPS to be developed by the company. At the time, Riot Games only revealed that it was a character-based tactical shooter. The project was a work in progress and the release date was not announced at the time. A group of select …
Forg1ven leaves and Schalke 04 improves, so what went wrong? League of Legends
Forg1ven leaves and Schalke 04 improves, so what went wrong? William Davis FC Schalke 04 got its first victory in the LEC against no other than G2 Esports. The quick improvement by the team comes just days after bot laner Konstantinos-Napoleon “FORG1VEN” Tzortziou decided to step down from the main roster. 2020 has been rough for Schalke and its fans. The team is currently 1-7, stuck in ninth place. The only team worse than Schalke is the winless Team Vitality. Coming into …
Current LCS team standings after one month of the 2020 Spring Split League of Legends
Current LCS team standings after one month of the 2020 Spring Split Olivia Richman The LCS Spring Split is almost halfway done and it’s starting to become clear which LCS teams are on top and which are underperforming. And a lot of the standings come as a surprise if we go by the preseason roster changes and predictions. Despite losing veteran Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi during a controversial preseason, Cloud9 look to be unstoppable in 2020. Yet to drop a game this season, it appears that their …
FlyQuest gets a big win over TSM in the 2020 LCS Spring Split League of Legends
FlyQuest gets a big win over TSM in the 2020 LCS Spring Split William Davis Team SoloMid is ending Week 4 in the 2020 LCS Spring season with two losses, as the team fell on Sunday against FlyQuest. TSM couldn’t keep its winning streak going in Week 4. The team lost on Saturday against Cloud9 and against FlyQuest the following day. This result is a step back for the team that was confidently climbing the LCS ladder. TSM went from being tied in second place …
Liquid stomps over CLG for Broxah’s first win in the LCS Syed Mujtaba Naqvi News Counter Logic Gaming and Team Liquid met in the fourth week of the 2020 LCS Spring Split. The teams started the day on the bottom of the standings, but Liquid now climbed a placement higher. CLG decided to go for outplays with knock-up abilities from Gragas and Nautilus in combination with Yasuo. Liquid focused on high pressure and crowd control with Mordekaiser, Tahm Kench, and Sejuani. Only two minutes into …
Changes to Jayce, Lux, new Blood Moon chromas and more on PBE Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends The latest update to League of Legends’ public beta server introduced new chromas for Blood Moon Katarina and some tentative balance changes. Ahead of patch 10.4 for which Riot Games is preparing significant nerfs for supports that started shining too bright on the top lane, the developer is putting to test a few other balance changes it believes to be necessary for the healthy environment of the game. Jayce, Kayle, …
Cloud9 takes down TSM, remains undefeated in 2020 LCS Spring Split William Davis League of Legends Cloud9 is undefeated in the 2020 LCS Spring Split, as the team picked up its seventh victory of the season against Team SoloMid. C9 is unstoppable in the LCS, and the team is yet to drop a game this season. C9 has established itself as the team to beat in North America, and its aggressive and proactive style keeps the team ahead of its opponents. The team has faced the strongest …
Fans can adopt cute dogs and puppies at 2020 LCS tailgate Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends In front of the doors to the LCS Studio, League of Legends fans today have an opportunity to spend some time with puppies, hopefully also deciding to adopt them. In collaboration with Los Angeles’ dog rescue Wags and Walks, the LCS is bringing adoptable dogs to the tailgate of this week’s 2020 LCS Spring Split. Wags and Walks shelters family friendly dogs from high-kill shelters, meaning these dogs were looking …
Immortals spoils Broxah’s first game with Team Liquid in the LCS Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends The fourth week of the 2020 LCS Spring Split opened with a match between Team Liquid and Immortals. Both teams shared a 4-2 score ahead of the game, but it’s Immortals that secured a second slot on the current standings, and Liquid that fell to ninth. This was a big match for Liquid as it was the first time the team performed with Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen, its new starting jungler …
Misfits ruins perfect season for G2 Esports in LEC Spring Split William Davis League of Legends G2 Esports is no longer undefeated in the 2020 LEC Spring season, as the team fell against a Misfits squad that keeps climbing in the standings. The 18-0 dream is over for G2. Misfits broke G2’s winning streak and secured themselves a tie for second place. After a disastrous 2019, Misfits has recovered with help from a new coaching staff and a new roster. The team is now a combination of rookies …
Team Secret expands, announces new League of Legends team in VCS Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends Team Secret has announced a Vietnamese League of Legends team. Team Secret is a European esports organization that fields one of the most successful Dota 2 teams in the world. The organization has now expanded to Dota 2’s rival MOBA, League of Legends. Secret shared the news on Twitter, announcing the new lineup as well. The team is starting its journey in the 2020 Vietnam Championship Series Spring Spit. Though the …
These are the most popular Challenger champs and roles in Season 10 William Davis League of Legends The solo queue experience is different in every region, but the high elo ranks might be more similar than previously imagined. A redditor created a spreadsheet comparing the challenger ladders in North America, Europe, and Korea, and the parallels are clear. Start with the most played champions by the Challenger players. It’s not a surprise that the most popular champions are exactly the same that are played on stage. Many …
Origen won their LEC match against MAD Lions in the draft phase Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends The fourth week of the 2020 LEC Spring Split started with a match between MAD Lions and Origen. Both teams headed in the week sharing the second place with a 4-2 score. But after today’s match, it’s Origen that overtook the Lions in the standings. After being banned every LEC game during the previous weeks, the love for Akali was lost this week with the new patch nerfing her. MAD …
Top lane Soraka and Sona are finally getting nerfed in patch 10.4 William Davis League of Legends League of Legends patch 10.4 will hit Soraka and Sona, according to a preview shared by gameplay designer Mark Yetter. Patch 10.4 will make sure that Soraka and Sona stay in their lane down bottom. The two supports are getting significant changes in their kits that will make them almost useless outside of the bottom lane. Players have no one to blame for these drastic nerfs but the G2 Esports …
T1 gets early LCK victory over longtime rival KT Rolster William Davis League of Legends T1 secured a victory over its arch-rival KT Rolster in the first round of the telecom war in the 2020 LCK Spring. The name of the teams and the rosters might change, but the rivalry between T1 and KT Rolster is still alive. Week 1 in the 2020 LCK Spring was different for both teams. While T1 is getting wins, KT Rolster is still struggling with the basics. T1 came …
Doublelift now has the worst KDA of any ADC in the LCS Olivia Richman News Team Liquid’s start in the Spring Split hasn’t gone as planned. On February 10, last year’s North American champions lost to Golden Guardians, currently considered one of the bottom tier teams in the LCS. Now, they’re tied for seventh place with a poor 2-4 record. While the Team Liquid pros and their fans are blaming their poor performance on veteran jungler Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pederson’s visa issues, there’s another issue becoming …

League of Legends is among the most popular widely-played video games in the world. It has been a consistent trendsetter in the gaming industry, whether as a model for other free-to-play titles looking to monetize their players or as a guiding light for how professional esports can be both successful and sustainable.

It hasn’t always been so though. League of Legends was released in 2009 as an uncertain new project, a game with large aspirations but little proven. In the years since, it has developed into the dominant title that it is today, and one of the biggest games on the planet.

League of Legends drives success of MOBA genre

League of Legends stands out in part because it may arguably be the very first original game released to truly fit into what we now understand to be the increasingly popular MOBA genre. Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas are a very particular type of game genre that carry out competition between two opposing teams of players on a map. These games test a mix of competition, tactics, and quick reactions, a potent combination that has proven equal parts popular and durable over the years.

While League of Legends was certainly among the first full releases to focus on the genre and its new ideas, it wasn’t actually the origin point for any of it. That distinction belongs to Blizzard release WarCraft 3, and more specifically a modified game mode titled Defense of the Ancients.

WarCraft 3 was a real-time strategy game that featured prominent hero units who could gain in power as they accrued experience points to level up their abilities, and gold to purchase powerful items. Defense of the Ancients was a user-made game mode which emphasized these heroes by giving each player control over one such character and teaming them up against an opposing squad of players. It was a dynamite success, inspiring myriad clones and, eventually, an entire genre of games.

But while League of Legends wasn’t the first to bring about these concepts, it was certainly effective in executing on them. Early developers at publisher Riot Games had a clear idea of what they wanted to accomplish with the creation of League of Legends, and it would be hard to argue against their success given the runaway popularity achieved by their iteration on the MOBA formula.

LoL incorporates esports sustainably

Just as impressive as the long-term success of League of Legends as a game is the continued success of the title’s esports scene. While esports has known multiple peaks and valleys over the years, Riot Games has consistently managed to maintain the prominence of LoL esports. This has been accomplished through an emphasis on regular regional play and sustainability.

Most esports and competitive games at the time used a circuits system, scattering major tournaments for the best teams across the year. Instead, Riot divided the world into separate playing regions. Each region has its own competitive league in which the best professional teams play weekly. The best teams in each league are then brought together for an annual World Championship event at the end of the competitive year. This allowed for domestic fan followings to develop across such regions as Korea, China, Europe, and North and South America. Fans would closely follow the teams in their region, and from that familiarity would feel invested in cheering them on when they clashed with teams from other regions at the game’s biggest international event.

This basic blueprint has continued to prove successful for Riot Games over the years, though it has expanded and been modified with time. In response to the success of the World Championship, Riot introduced a second international tournament in 2015, the prestigious Mid-Season Invitational. In 2025, First Stand was added to bring LoL esports to three international events per year. Once again the scene was enhanced and this indirectly expanded the opportunities for League of Legends esports betting. In the meantime, the regional leagues have spread out to include more regions and lower levels, solidifying their identity.

The basic formula remains the same, however. Encourage fan support on a domestic level, and then carry that support and interest over to the global stage. It’s a formula that continues to power League of Legends esports, and looks set to enable it for many years yet to come.

At Win.gg, our coverage of LoL esports spans from the broader competitive updates and their impact on the scene to in-depth high-profile match previews with team analysis, head-to-head analysis, LoL betting odds sense-makers and predictions. All of these based on the insights of our experienced esports journalists.