League of Legends
League of Legends
Sneaky shows off Pokemon cosplay after rocky offseason with C9
Olivia Richman
Cloud9’s Zach “Sneaky” Scuderi is known for his popular gender-bending League of Legends-themed cosplays. The popular AD carry has decided to branch out into other games this time around. With constant buzz around Pokemon Sword and Shield since before its release, thanks to some notable leaks, Sneaky treated fans to an unexpected Marnie cosplay. “They wanted me to cosplay Pokimane, but I heard Pokemon,” Sneaky joked on Twitter, sharing a quick …
League of Legends
Voyboy stuns youngrezzy with rap skills during Tyler1’s LoL tournament
William Davis
Joedat “Voyboy” Esfahani and the Shen god himself, “youngrezzy,” lit up the halftime show of Tyler1’s third annual League of Legends tournament the “Tyler1 Championship Series 2019” with an impromptu rap. The first day of the TCS playoffs featured a handful of Twitch personalities serving as casters. During Voyboy and youngrezzy’s time at the proverbial desk, the pair took it upon themselves to hype up the chat and call out …
League of Legends
Legendary support Mata retires from competitive League of Legends
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
South Korean pro player Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong has decided to retire from competitive League of Legends, the veteran shared on Facebook. Mata has been a part of the competitive scene ever since 2013. Under Samsung White’s banner, he was the world champion just a year after his debut. Now, he’s the last member of the team that took the crown at Worlds 2014 to retire. The news comes just a …
News
2020 LEC Spring Split start date revealed by Riot Games
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Riot Games has announced that the 2020 LEC Spring Split will kick off on January 24. The league will be played in Riot’s studio in Berlin. The second regular season of the rebranded European league will take place across nine weeks, with 10 teams competing for a spot in the playoffs. The winner of the 2020 LEC Spring Split will qualify for the 2020 Mid-Season Invitational, where it will represent Europe on …
League of Legends
Esports winners at 2019 Game Awards include Bugha and G2 Esports
Olivia Richman
The Game Awards have come to a close and the winners in the esports categories have been revealed. Last year, the popular show became one of Twitch’s biggest live stream events with over 1.13 million concurrent viewers watching the program on the platform at its peak. This was double the views The Game Awards had received in 2017. Let’s take a look at how this year’s esports categories differed from …
League of Legends
Doinb becomes the first import player to become LPL resident
William Davis
FunPlus Phoenix mid laner and reigning world champion Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang has become the first foreign player to receive LPL residency. After five years competing in China, Doinb was granted LPL residency and will no longer count as an import for the team. Doinb, who is originally from South Korea, was a popular solo queue player who has received high praise from professional players including T1 mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. …
League of Legends
Flash Wolves not competing in the League of Legends PCS in 2020
Olivia Richman
Flash Wolves fans were distraught this morning when they saw a tweet from the Taiwanese organization declaring that they wouldn’t be competing in the League of Legends Pacific Champion Series next season. “We are so sorry to tell every fans, Flash Wolves League of Legend team won’t participate PCS in 2020. We will help player to find new stage for their career. Hopefully, we will see you next game,” the …
League of Legends
Pobelter rejoins Team Liquid for 2020 LCS as assistant coach
William Davis
Eugene “Pobelter” Park, who recently revealed that he couldn’t find a team for LCS play, has joined Team Liquid as a positional coach for 2020. In November, Pobelter shocked the League of Legends community with an emotional statement on Twitter. The former pro player shared that he couldn’t find a team to join and that for the first time since Season 4, he wouldn’t be playing in the LCS. Many …
New LoL game CONV/RGENCE revealed at The Game Awards
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
The Game Awards was very kind to League of Legends fans. Alongside winning two awards, two different spin-off titles were revealed during the event. In addition to Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, CONV/RGENCE: A League of Legends Story was also unveiled with a short teaser trailer. No gameplay was shown at The Game Awards, but one of the developers on hand gave fans an idea of what’s in …
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story revealed at Game Awards
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
A new League of Legends spin-off title has been revealed at The Game Awards. Ruined King: A League of Legends Story was revealed with a teaser trailer with former Marvel Comics artist Joe Madureira on hand to discuss it. He opened up that the title is a story-driven, turn-based RPG based in the League of Legends universe set after the Burning Tides event. Players will play as League champions and …
Every new roster change going into the 2020 LCS Spring Split
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
News
Since developer Riot Games opened the doors for free agency announcements on November 18, the League of Legends community has been bombarded with rumors and official announcements of new roster changes and free agencies. Some of the LoL Championship Series teams don’t have their full rosters officially locked yet, but the situation for the 2020 season is becoming clearer with every passing day. Here’s an overview of all the current …
League of Legends PBE gets new champion Sett, 12 new skins
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
The League of Legends public beta environment has been updated with the 10.1 PBE cycle, bringing new champion Sett, a few balance changes, and 12 new skins to the Summoner’s Rift. The highlight of the 10.1 PBE patch is Sett, the new juggernaut and the first champion set to release in 2020. The new top lane champion is made for those that like to play aggressively, crushing enemies in the …
Cowsep discusses move to Facebook Gaming, mental health struggle
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
League of Legends streamer Joseph “Cowsep” Hursey is joining DisguisedToast and Smash Bros legend ZeRo at Facebook Gaming. After streaming full-time on Twitch for five years, Cowsep discussed his move to Facebook Gaming with Inven Global. Unlike Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios’ YouTube video on the matter, Cowsep claimed the response to his YouTube announcement was mostly positive, although it didn’t get as much attention as he initially thought it would. The majority of the streaming …
Riot Forge teases new games with four pieces of preview art
William Davis
League of Legends
Developer Riot Games has announced a series of new projects during their tenth anniversary celebration, and now we are getting our first look at new content set within the League of Legends universe. Riot recently established a publishing studio called “Riot Forge” that will be working with third-party developers to create new video games set in the world of League of Legends. The team has been keeping quiet about projects …
LoL fans want to remove TFT from future All-Star events
William Davis
League of Legends
Teamfight Tactics was the least popular part of the All-Star Event and fans are asking Riot Games to avoid including this game mode in future events. The All-Star Event took place from December 5 to December 7. Through three days, professional players, online personalities, and content creators gathered at the Esports Arena Las Vegas to compete in a series of events. Teamfight Tactics, the newest game mode in League of …
Soulbound class comes to Teamfight Tactics with patch 9.24
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
Teamfight Tactics has been updated with patch 9.24, the final patch of the year. The patch added a new Soulbound class together with Senna, Lucian, and Amumu. Improvements to the interface and some balance changes were implemented as well. Riot Games announced that the new class featuring Senna and Lucian will be joining the second TFT set a few weeks ago. The two new units, alongside Amumu, are now available …
Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai invests $10 million in G2 Esports
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Brooklyn Nets owner and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Joe Tsai has just invested in G2 Esports. Tsai invested $10 million into the esports franchise, valuing G2 at $100 million. The organization is hoping to expand its presence in Asia thanks to this investment. According to the South China Morning Post, there are more gamers in China than there are people in the United States, making it a lucrative market …
Schalke 04 completes 2020 LEC roster with Gilius signing
Nina Forneloza
League of Legends
Schalke 04 has finally completed its roster going into League of Legends’ 2020 LEC season by signing Erberk “Gilius” Demir for the team’s jungler position. Fans will not have seen Gilius since the 2018 Spring Split, where he competed on the starting roster for Team Vitality. Vitality ended that season in fourth place and Gilius was replaced by Mateusz “Kikis” Szkudlarek. He has also represented G2, Giants, and Unicorns of …
Patch 9.24 live in League of Legends with Braum, Diana changes
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
League of Legends is ready for patch 9.24, the final update of the year. The patch will implement a number of champion balance changes, updates to runes, visual updates, and more. Riot has taken time since the start of preseason to collect player feedback and identify features that felt out of place. Patch 9.24 is bringing new Dawnbringer, Nightbringer and Sugar Rush skins, the Legend of the Poro King game …
Louis Vuitton launches League of Legends collection, sells out
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
World famous fashion brand Louis Vuitton launched a clothing collection in collaboration with League of Legends. The merchandise sold out in Europe within an hour after its launch. The collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Riot Games isn’t anything new. The new collection is rather another product of the partnership. The two organizations started working together for the 2019 World Championship, where Louis Vuitton designed a case for the Summoner’s Cup …
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.
