League of Legends
League of Legends
The new NACL teams, from Disguised to EG
Nicholas James
After Riot Games made NACL participation optional for LCS organizations, fans have many new NACL teams to get acquainted with, here’s a full list. Riot Games recently announced that LCS organizations would not have the mandatory duty to field a roster in the tier-two North American scene. As a result, all but three LCS teams have abandoned their Challengers efforts for the time being. This means lots of new teams …
League of Legends
JD Gaming Kanavi won MSI while first-timing this champion
Nicholas James
JD Gaming jungler Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok has recently won his first international League of Legends title, taking down MSI 2023 while playing a champion for the very first time. JDG took MSI 2023 in London, England by storm. Triumphing against fellow LPL representative Billibilli Gaming in the finals, and jungler Kanavi played no small part in that victory. After the series, when the recordings of JDG’s communications onstage, it was …
League of Legends
Faker and JDG members will represent Korea in 2022 Asian Games
William Davis
The Korean Esports Association, KeSPA, revealed Team Korea’s roster for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. The roster includes two members of the 2023 MSI Champion, JD Gaming and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. Esports were first included in the 2018 Asian Games as demonstration sports. In 2023, esports are officially included in the Asian Games as an official event. This marks the first time that esports is part of an event hosted …
League of Legends
What would an LCS player’s strike look like?
Nicholas James
Riot Games recently made participation in the North American Challenger League options for LCS organizations, and that looks like it could lead to an LCS players strike. The North American Challenger League is the second tier of play in North America. Until recently, it was mandatory for LCS organizations to field a NACL roster. Recently, Riot Games put it to a vote among the LCS ownership, and that requirement was …
League of Legends
All the biggest Midseason patch changes to items
Nicholas James
The Midseason patch changes have been out for a few days and League of Legends players are saying these are the biggest changes to hit Summoner’s Rift. Riot Games likes to shake up League of Legends halfway through each season, and that time has come for Season 13. This year, Riot Games is taking a close look at the items system and trying to reinvent several items while also modifying …
League of Legends
BLG Tabe: “It’s a regret” to underestimate Jayce at MSI
Tokoni Uti
After a fairy tale run to the grand final of MSI 2023, Bilibili Gaming found the title a step too far as they fell in a 3-1 series loss at the hands of LPL rivals JD Gaming. The team spoke to the media following the loss. Top laner Chen “Bin” Ze-Bin has been a fan favorite at the tournament, and his performances for BLG at MSI have furthered claims that …
League of Legends
Riot talks LCS problems, Olympic weirdness at MSI
Tokoni Uti
Prior to JD Gaming’s MSI 2023 grand final victory over Biliblili Gaming, Riot’s president of esports John Needham, global head of League of Legends esports Naz Aletaha, and League of Legends EMEA esports director Max Schmidt sat down with media for a roundtable Q&A session. First on the agenda was the presence of League of Legends, and esports as a whole, in Olympic and other international athletic events. Needham revealed …
League of Legends
League of Legends Pride event rewards for 2023
Nicholas James
Pride Month is nearly here, and League of Legends is rolling out the rainbow carpet once more for its annual Pride event. Riot Games has outlined the cosmetics and additions that will be added to League of Legends for Pride 2023. This is an annual tradition for the developer, and Season 13 will be no exception. The event was announced with splash art depicting some of the game’s canonically LGBTQ+ …
Which region is TSM going to after leaving LCS?
Nicholas James
League of Legends
TSM has announced its departure from the North American professional League of Legends scene, departing the LCS, but which region is TSM going to? TSM has been synonymous with the North American League of Legends since the beginning, but that’s soon to be no more. The organization announced that it would be moving from the LCS to another tier-one region, ceasing LCS operations. With only three valid options to choose …
TSM confirms it’s moving to a new region
William Davis
League of Legends
TSM’s owner Andy “Reginald” Dinh, confirmed through Twitter that TSM is officially moving to a new region. After months of rumors about TSM’s departure from the LCS, it has finally been confirmed by the team. “Since the beginning, TSM has always been about competing at the highest level and really sacrificing whatever it takes to get there. We mainly did it out of passion, the money wasn’t even enough for …
JDG is the League of Legends 2023 MSI champion!
William Davis
League of Legends
JD Gaming is the 2023 MSI champion after defeating Bilibili Gaming in the grand finals. This is the first international title for JDG in the organization’s history. Ahead of every World Championship for the past couple of years, all eyes have been on JDG. This is a team with great prowess that seems to always be on the edge of greatness. At Worlds, JDG has fallen short on every occasion, …
Chronicler talks triple elim, Peyz, and pizza at MSI
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
We spoke with LCK caster Maurits “Chronicler” Jan Meeusen after he worked the analyst desk for the MSI 2023 lower bracket matchup between Gen.G and Bilibili Gaming. Fresh off of the disappointment of seeing Korea’s first seed eliminated, we prodded Chronicler for his thoughts on a potential resolution to Gen.G’s failing to proceed at MSI despite its double-elimination format. WIN.gg: Thoughts on triple elimination? Yeah, I don’t personally think triple …
T1 eliminated from MSI 2023 by underdog BLG
William Davis
League of Legends
T1 has been eliminated from MSI 2023 after being defeated by underdog Bilibili Gaming. T1’s MSI 2023 run has been cut short by BLG. The LCK’s second seed couldn’t recover from the defeat against JD Gaming and ended up taking its second defeat of the tournament in the loser’s bracket. The demoralizing defeat marks the end of the season for the team that now has its eye on the 2023 …
“I’m just stronger,” BLG’s Bin talks dominating streak at MSI
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
Bilibili Gaming top laner Chen “Bin” Ze-Bin spoke to the media fresh off of the back of a dominating 3-0 lower-bracket victory that eliminated Korea’s Gen.G from MSI 2023. The former-RNG player was cocky in his answers, showing the same confidence that he displayed throughout the series in which he commanded his top lane matchups. Bin was initially quizzed on his battle against lane opponent Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon and why …
Gen.G Doran at MSI: “There could have been better picks”
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
Gen.G top laner Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon spoke to the media after the Korean first seed crashed out of MSI 2023 at the hands of Bilibili Gaming. “I think the biggest issue that we were facing was our communication around team fights,” he said of the loss. The tournament has seen a focus on team fighting compositions, with JD Gaming and now Bilibili Gaming showing to be the strongest in this …
Aux talks T1 upset, new format, and the meta at MSI 2023
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
Following JD Gaming’s MSI 2023 upper bracket final win over T1, we spoke to former LPL and current LCK caster Dan “Aux” Harrison. We asked for his thoughts on the series, tournament meta, double-elimination, and working with Huni. WIN.gg: What are your immediate thoughts on the JDG vs T1 series? Absolute banger. I feel like it delivered, and the fact that there’s potential for a rematch – I think the …
MISSING and Oner open up on the 2023 MSI experience
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
JDG’s Lou “MISSING” Yun-Feng and T1’s Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun spoke to the media after the former won out in their hotly anticipated MSI 2023 upper bracket matchup. JD Gaming took the series in a 3-2 battle that had little to split the sides on paper beforehand and even less to separate them on the day. The LPL winners now qualify for the tournament’s grand final, while T1 will drop to …
T1 falls to loser’s bracket in MSI 2023
William Davis
League of Legends
T1 stumbled in the semifinal match against JD Gaming and is now relegated to the loser’s bracket at MSI 2023. Things are heating up at MSI 2023. The top four, consisting of eastern teams only, saw its first massive clash in the semifinals, with T1 facing tournament favorite JDG. While many expected JDG to be the winner, T1 put up a good fight and took the series to game five. …
An interview with UK casting duo Nymaera and Initialise at MSI 2023
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
UK casting duo Sam “Initialise” Hapgood and Alex “Nymaera” Hapgood talked to WIN.gg prior to the highly-anticipated upper bracket grand final between T1 and JD gaming. Here is their insight mid-MSI 2023. The 2023 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is in full swing, now down to only four teams competing for the coveted trophy. The lower bracket games are still in motion, but all eyes are on T1 and JD gaming, the …
How to compete in the TFT Championship Pick’Ems
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Riot Games emphasizes esports in all of its video game titles, and its auto-battler is no different with TFT Pick’Ems arriving soon. Pick’Ems are Riot Games’ favorite way to encourage fans to interact with its major esports tournaments. This is no different for the Monsters Attack championship, the grand final for Teamfight Tactics’ latest set. Here’s how TFT Pick’Ems works and how to participate in it. Pick’Ems are a fan …
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.
