League of Legends
League of Legends
Broxah splits from Fnatic, replaces Xmithie on Team Liquid
Steven Rondina
Team Liquid had a solid 2019 season, but that didn’t keep the team from making changes for 2020. According to Jacob Wolf on the ESPN League of Legends Free Agency Show, Liquid has added Fnatic jungler Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen. He is set to replace Jake “Xmithie” Puchero. Broxah leaves Fnatic after more than three years. He first joined the organization in 2016 with Fnatic Academy but was promoted to the …
League of Legends
Cloud9 adds ex-TSM carry Zven, Dignitas’ Vulcan as new bot lane duo
William Davis
According to ESPN’s Jacob Wolf, Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen and Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme are the new bottom lane duo for Cloud9. Cloud9 is reportedly about to close a deal with the former Team SoloMid AD Carry. The Danish player revealed on November 12 that he had decided against renewing his contract with TSM and that he would enter free agency. The news didn’t surprise LCS fans considering the poor results Zven has …
League of Legends
T1 loses Khan and Clid to free agency, locks down Effort
William Davis
T1, formerly known as SK Telecom T1, has been at the center of a surprising amount of news regarding League of Legends free agency. The organization has extended its contract with Lee “Effort” Sang-ho. The support player will return next spring and will remain a part of the organization that gave him his start thanks a two-year extension. Before this, T1 extended its contract with Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, which will see …
League of Legends
KT Rolster still in negotiations with its current roster
William Davis
KT Rolster has terminated its contracts with its League of Legends roster, but it might not be done with the players just yet. The organization barely avoided relegations in the summer and that has the brand ready to change its approach for the next season. That shift started when the team released support No “SnowFlower” Hoi-jong before the free agency period officially started. Now, the team has nixed its contracts …
League of Legends
Team SoloMid trades Smoothie to CLG for Biofrost
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Team SoloMid and Counter Logic Gaming will reportedly be swapping their supports. According to ESPN’s Jacob Wolf, Vincent “Biofrost” Wang and Andy “Smoothie” Ta will be switching teams for the upcoming LCS season. This comes as both organizations look to retool their rosters after failing to qualify for the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. The news will likely be confirmed once free agency announcements begin on November 18. Biofrost played for TSM during …
League of Legends
Gen.G drops most of its LoL team to rebuild around Ruler and Life
William Davis
Gen.G Esports extended the contracts of bottom lane duo Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk and Kim “Life” Jeong-min and released the rest of its roster. Top laners Lee “CuVee” Seong-jin and Kim “Roach” Kang-hui, jungler Han “Peanut” Wang-ho, and mid laners Song “Fly” Yong-jun and Lee “Kuzan” Seong-hyeok now find themselves as free agents. “We are sad to announce players’ departures as we enter the offseason. We thank them for everything they’ve …
League of Legends
Faker extends contract with T1, staying with team through 2021
Nina Forneloza
Legendary mid laner and three-time World Champion Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok has confirmed he will remain with SK Telecom’s League of Legends team T1 until at least the end of 2021. While many fans would assume that there would be no reason for Faker to leave an organization that he has won so many titles with, there has been a fair bit of speculation that he’s ready for a change of …
League of Legends
DragonX renews Deft’s contract, dumps everyone else
William Davis
DragonX has renewed its contract with Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu and has big plans for him. The organization is doing a hard reboot of its roster, dumping its entire lineup outside the bottom laner. Deft is considered one of the best in the position, gaining notoriety during his time with Edward Gaming in the LPL. In the LCK, Deft has always been a formidable player, even when his team isn’t the best …
LCK Operation Committee investigating Griffin treatment of Kanavi
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
An investigation on allegations that Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok was “forcefully signed” to a Chinese esports organization will result in the release of a final report in the next few days. The LCK Operation Committee began to investigate the situation in October after it came to light that League of Legends pro Kanavi was forced to sign a long-term contract with JDG by his former team, Griffin. Considered a minor in Korea, …
FPX Doinb talks Worlds skins, Nemesis, and Europe on stream
William Davis
League of Legends
World Champion Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang is back on his regular streaming schedule and had something to say about his time in Europe. Doinb and FunPlus Phoenix were crowned World Champions on November 10 in Paris, France. The LPL has now won back-to-back World Championship titles. The dust has settled and Doinb is back on his streaming schedule, sharing with a rapidly growing audience. The first order of business for the …
Altec announces free agency after Echo Fox, willing to leave LCS
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
With Echo Fox disbanded, the team’s former League of Legends bot laner Johnny “Altec” Ru has announced his free agency. The North American player shared on Twitter that he’s looking for a new team and is open to competing in all regions, noting his success in both Korean and North American solo queue ladders. Altec is one of the 10 highest-ranked players on League’s NA server. Many other pro players, especially from …
YoungBuck left Fnatic, joined Excel Esports for surprising reason
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Newly christened Excel Esports coach Joey “YoungBuck” Steltenpool has a lot to say about his now-former League of Legends team, Fnatic. When YoungBuck first announced his decision to join Excel Esports, it seemed to be a choice he made based on his desire to have more positive experiences. That’s all true, but judging from an interview he did with Red Bull there is a bit more to his decision than that. “In the end, …
2019 Esports Awards winners include Team Liquid, Mini Ladd
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
The annual Esports Awards saw many personalities from across the industry walk the red carpet. The event is always a hot topic of conversation and this year was no different as some of the most popular teams and personalities in both esports and gaming had their work honored. Though the event saw fans of nominees that didn’t win frustrated in some cases, it’s worth taking a look at who came …
YamatoCannon leaves Vitality, Excel picks up YoungBuck
William Davis
News
Team Vitality is looking for a fresh start in 2020, but that doesn’t end with players. Head coach Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi has parted ways with Vitality after two years with the organization. The split with YamatoCannon is not the only change Vitality has made this offseason. The Swede joined the organization in 2017 and since then has become one of the faces of Vitality. Unfortunately, the team has failed to get any …
Damonte to become free agent as Dignitas declines contract extension
William Davis
League of Legends
North American mid laner Tanner “Damonte” Damonte will become a free agent on November 18. According to the mid laner, Dignitas declined to exercise the second year of his contract. The announcement took the community by surprise, especially considering the year Damonte had with Clutch Gaming. Damonte had a significant impact on the LCS in 2019. The mid laner became the best Qiyana player in the region and was one of …
TusiN leaves DragonX, rumored to join a roster in the LCS
William Davis
League of Legends
Support Park “TusiN” Jong-ik has parted ways with DragonX amid rumors of possible LCS transfer. TusiN is no longer part of DragonX, the team that was recently accused of player tampering by KT Rolster. TusiN’s departure doesn’t come as a surprise considering the rumors that he is heading to North America. Korean supports have seen some success in the region, and the best example of that trend would be Team …
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reveals Silver rank in League of Legends
gabhernandez
League of Legends
Alexandria “AOC” Ocasio-Cortez showed off the results of her effort to climb the ranked ladder in League of Legends on Twitter, proving that being a member of Congress will never stop a true gamer. Ocasio-Cortez is a United States Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district who is known for being outspoken and not afraid to cause a stir. She also is a known LoL player, having picked the game …
Fnatic parts ways with coach YoungBuck amid internal issues
William Davis
League of Legends
Fnatic has parted ways with head coach Joey “YoungBuck” Steltenpool, who had overseen the team since 2018. Fnatic is looking to enter 2020 with new coaching staff. The organization released coach YoungBuck, who led the team to the World Championship final in 2018. The change comes after an underwhelming result at the World Championship where Fnatic was knocked out in the quarterfinals despite high expectations. “This year, we still feel how …
Former EU LCS pro k0u survives suicide attempt, is hospitalized
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
League of Legends fans began to panic when they saw a blog post written by former EU LCS pro Lâm “k0u” Tịnh Trì entitled, “My Reality, My Thoughts.” In it, k0u wrote that anyone reading the post should know he is “no longer in this world.” He stated the blog post is a “dive into my mind during my last moments.” One of k0u’s former Riddle Esports teammates, Noman “Nomi” …
The biggest LCS transfer rumors from the 2019 offseason
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
As soon as the 2019 League of Legends World Championship finished, social media and forums filled with rumors surround upcoming roster changes. Some of these rumors will prove to be true, some won’t, but fans are surely heading for an exciting preseason of League esports. Numerous rumors have been circulating around the community for the past few days, especially when it comes to the LoL Championship Series. From predictions of …
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.
League of Legends
Team SoloMid adds ex-Splyce carry Kobbe for 2020 LCS Spring Split
By
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Norskeren and Patrik join Excel, Fnatic replaces YoungBuck with Mithy
By
William Davis
League of Legends
Hans Sama joins Rogue, extends Vander’s contract two years
By
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
