League of Legends
League of Legends
2020 LCK Spring Split start date, full list of teams revealed
William Davis
The 2020 LCK Spring Split will start on February 5, approximately two weeks later than in previous years. The schedule is based on the Lunar New Year celebration, which occurs on January 25 in 2020. Following the holidays, the teams will have a little while to regroup before the beginning of the season. Like previous years, the LCK is following a double round-robin format through the regular season. The regular …
League of Legends
Showmatch between MAD Lions and Team Tyler1 is called off
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
The showmatch between LEC team MAD Lions and Team Tyler1 from Twitch Rivals won’t be happening. And even if it were to somehow come through, there will be no broadcast of the game. Just two days ago, MAD Lions challenged League of Legends streamer and Team Tyler1 member Christian “IWDominate” Rivera on a match in response to him teasing the team’s Twitter follower count. IWDominate answered that he’d gladly play …
League of Legends
LoL Warriors cinematic continues on lore of the Lux comic series
William Davis
Riot Games kicked off the 2020 ranked season with an epic cinematic short. For the first time ever, Riot chose to use their annual animation to continue one of the major League of Legends lore threads. Demacia and mage rebellions have been a recurring focus of media surrounding the game. That arc began with the release of the champion Sylas, whose backstory revolves around sparking a mage revolution against the …
League of Legends
FunPlus Phoenix decide on 2019 Worlds champion skins
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
The 2019 World Champion FunPlus Phoenix have made a definitive decision on champions that will be wearing the team’s colors with new skins. FPX mid laner Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang shared during a live stream which five FPX skins League of Legends players will be able to buy in the stores this spring. World Champion skins are coming for Gangplank, Lee Sin, Malphite, Vayne, and Thresh. FPX is the seventh champion to …
League of Legends
Aphelios breaks record in Korea as the most-banned LoL champion
William Davis
Aphelios has broken the record as the most-banned champion in Korean solo queue, with a 223% ban rate. Aphelios, The Weapon of the Faithful, was introduced with Patch 9.24, the final update of 2019. The champion promised to be different from any other champion prior and it lived up to those expectations. While Aphelios’ kit is different from the rest in the game, it was also too powerful. Because of …
League of Legends
Evil Geniuses adds Lebanese player Korean Kid to complete Academy team
William Davis
Evil Geniuses Academy has completed its starting roster with the addition of Lebanese mid laner Ahmad “Korean kid” Charif. Evil Geniuses Academy went all the way to the Middle East to find a new mid laner. Korean Kid recently took part in Nexus Arabia 2019, the first League of Legends event of its kind in Saudi Arabia. The mid laner was part of EGZ eSports, which won one of the tournaments …
League of Legends
TFT Patch 10.1 adds new Lunar trait and items, nerfs Nocturne
William Davis
The first Teamfight Tactic update of 2020 is here. Patch 10.1 adds new champions, new Little Legends, and new items. TFT is starting the year with some major changes that include a new trait with two new champions. This will be the second set of new units to be added to Set 2 Rise of the Elements, the first one being Soulbound with Senna and Lucian. TFT Patch 10.1 adds …
League of Legends
League of Legends 2020 teaser shows new Volibear, Clash, more
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Riot Games has shared a video teasing what’s coming in 2020 for League of Legends and beyond. From new champions and skins, a Teamfight Tactics update, and Riot’s new games, fans have a lot to be excited for this year. Head of League of Legends Joe “New001” Tung shared Riot will be updating players with details throughout the week, starting with explanations of where the developer is headed with limited …
League of Legends 2020 cinematic “Warriors” is now live
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
The 2020 League of Legends cinematic, titled Warriors, is live. Riot Games has been working hard to make players excited about the new tenth season of League of Legends. And it’s on a great track to do so, going from the 2020 season teaser where upcoming updates were announced to the high quality animation of the new cinematic. Imagine Dragons’ Warriors, a song that was written for the 2014 World …
Team Liquid announces Pobelter as temporary jungler for LCS
William Davis
League of Legends
Team Liquid has announced Eugene “Pobelter” Park as its temporary starting jungler for the 2020 LCS Spring season. Desperate times demand desperate measures and Team Liquid could not be more desperate. After announcing that Danish jungler Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen was still in the process of getting his visa approved, Team Liquid had to find a replacement. The organization shared that Team Liquid Academy jungler Shern “Shernfire” Cherng Tai was also …
Gen.G starts boot camp in China, will train with Royal Never Give Up
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2020 LCK Spring Split is getting closer and teams are looking to get into peak form for the competition. While some organizations are hitting the beach and doing bonding exercises, Gen.G has decided to pack its bags and boot camp in Shanghai, China. Gen.G revealed on Twitter that the organization was setting up camp in China as part of its offseason preparation. The team also shared that they will …
Excel Esports changes CEO, CCO ahead of LEC 2020 Spring Split
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Excel Esports has made some big changes ahead of the LEC Spring Split. Fnatic’s former CEO, Wouter Sleijffers, is now bringing his expertise to Excel Esports, taking the CEO spot from co-founder Kieran Holmes-Darby. Holmes-Darby will be moving to the chief gaming officer position. Sleijffers led Fnatic from 2015 to 2019, which saw the team rebrand itself as an international lifestyle organization. Sleijffers called Excel Esports the “most beloved brand …
This is how Dark Harvest impacts the keystones Omnistone grants
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
Project: Omnistone is the rune League of Legends players like to look down upon. And that may not be because the rune is underperforming, but rather because it’s difficult to understand. When a player goes into the game with Omnistone equipped, they basically decide to let the game pick which keystone is the best depending on the situation they’re in. Omnistone grants use of different keystones, giving higher priority to …
Riot announces 2020 LCS Spring schedule, new league format
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
News
Riot Games has shared the format and schedule of the upcoming 2020 LCS season. The format adds Mondays as gamedays, another week to the playoffs, a new format, and more. The regular season of competitive League of Legends is a bit over two weeks away, and fans of the North American league now have all the details they need for the 2020 LoL Championship Series Spring. The new format introduced …
Olleh announced as final member of Dignitas Academy team
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Veteran support player Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung has joined Dignitas Academy, rounding out the impressive roster ahead of the 2020 NA Academy season. “Assembled Exodia. Welcome our new support, Olleh, to DIG 2020!” the organization tweeted out just a few hours ago. Olleh is a fan-favorite support player who was most well known for his time playing with Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng on Team Liquid from November 2017 to November 2018. Olleh …
Swifte withdraws from Twitch Rivals, unhappy with team draft
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
Twitch streamer and League of Legends challenger support player Johnny “Swifte” Ngo withdrew from the 2020 Twitch Rivals League of Legends NA Team Draft Showdown. Twitch Rivals will see teams drafted by eight captains, all well-known personalities within the League community, fighting for a $75,000 prize pool. One of the team captains is Timothy “‘Trick2g” Foley, a streamer known for his amazing Udyr plays, and Swifte was one of the …
Big balance changes coming to League of Legends with Patch 10.1
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
League of Legends is just a few days away from Season 10 and one night before the first patch of the year. Patch 10.1 is coming with four nerfs, more than 10 buffs, as well as changes to support items and Omnistone. These changes will help shape the meta of the upcoming season. The biggest update is coming to Sylas, and although Riot considers it a buff, it’s more of …
Sylas’ gameplay may completely change with new Patch 10.1
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
Though patch 10.1 is bringing balance updates to a large number of champions, Sylas is in the spotlight. The first patch of the season has a major overhaul ready for the champion. Sylas has been struggling to find his place under the sun. Developed as a mid laner, he’s almost never picked for that role. When he is, players are struggling to get wins. Riot Games recognized this issue and …
Six tips for climbing out of Bronze rank in League of Legends
William Davis
League of Legends
League of Legends Season 10 will officially start on January 10 and players are asking themselves the same question: How can I rank up? This guide includes six tips that will help you improve as a League of Legends player once the ranked season starts. It won’t be easy and nothing is guaranteed, so buckle up and get ready for another season of play. It sounds like a bit of …
A quick guide to playing AP Shaco like a League of Legends pro
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
Changes introduced with patch 9.21 made Shaco spike in popularity. The patch didn’t just buff him, it also changed his abilities in a way that opens the jester towards strong new AP builds. Though there have been nerfs to those abilities since, Shaco remains to be a strong pick. With his standard jungle build revolving around attack damage, AP Shaco found a new place to shine. Players recognized the outplay …
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.
