win.gg
Win.gg League of Legends Page 115

League of Legends

Team SoloMid adds ex-Splyce carry Kobbe for 2020 LCS Spring Split League of Legends Team SoloMid adds ex-Splyce carry Kobbe for 2020 LCS Spring Split By Olivia Richman Norskeren and Patrik join Excel, Fnatic replaces YoungBuck with Mithy League of Legends Norskeren and Patrik join Excel, Fnatic replaces YoungBuck with Mithy By William Davis Hans Sama joins Rogue, extends Vander’s contract two years League of Legends Hans Sama joins Rogue, extends Vander’s contract two years By Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Team SoloMid trades Smoothie to CLG for Biofrost 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 …
Gen.G drops most of its LoL team to rebuild around Ruler and Life 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 …
Faker extends contract with T1, staying with team through 2021 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 …
DragonX renews Deft’s contract, dumps everyone else 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 League of Legends LCK Operation Committee investigating Griffin treatment of Kanavi By Olivia Richman FPX Doinb talks Worlds skins, Nemesis, and Europe on stream League of Legends FPX Doinb talks Worlds skins, Nemesis, and Europe on stream By William Davis Altec announces free agency after Echo Fox, willing to leave LCS League of Legends Altec announces free agency after Echo Fox, willing to leave LCS By Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
YoungBuck left Fnatic, joined Excel Esports for surprising reason League of Legends
YoungBuck left Fnatic, joined Excel Esports for surprising reason Olivia Richman 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 League of Legends
2019 Esports Awards winners include Team Liquid, Mini Ladd Syed Mujtaba Naqvi 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 News
YamatoCannon leaves Vitality, Excel picks up YoungBuck William Davis 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 League of Legends
Damonte to become free agent as Dignitas declines contract extension William Davis 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 …
Top stats from the 2019 League of Legends World Championship Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends The 2019 League of Legends World Championship culminated last weekend with FunPlus Phoenix taking the crown. In about a month from the group stage’s beginnings to finals, 16 teams competed on the Worlds stage. Some players were more dominant than others in terms of in-game statistics. Some had high kill/death/assist ratios just because they played only a few games, but overall, FPX and Griffin dominated across all aspects. Although it’s C9 …
League fans can now vote for the 2019 LoL All-Stars Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends Riot Games has recently announced the annual All-Star event will be returning this December. From November 13, fans have a chance to vote which pros will participate in the event. Pros picked by fans, and another six directly invited by Riot, will enjoy this three-day-long tournament in Los Angeles playing different fun game modes such as regional show matches and 1v1 competitions. They will be joined by influencers and other …
Only 1 LoL player had perfect 2019 Worlds Pick’Ems Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends Each year, League of Legends players look to prove their knowledge and try their luck with the Worlds Pick’Em. This year, only one person was perfect throughout the event. Not many League fans expected China’s FunPlus Phoenix to take the trophy at the 2019 LoL World Championship, but FPX made everyone that doubted them look foolish by skating through the event. FPX placed first in its group, took the quarterfinals match …
Griffin Director Cho resigns while the LCK team is investigation William Davis League of Legends Griffin’s Director Cho Kyu-nam has resigned, and the decision came after almost two months of public drama. Griffin is ready to put an end to the internal drama and start focusing on 2020. The team announced that former director Cho Kyu-nam is no longer part of the organization. Cho was part of a public battle with former head coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho who was fired back in September. cvMax accused …
KT Rolster reports DragonX for tampering with mid laner BDD William Davis League of Legends KT Rolster has reported DragonX, formerly known as Kingzone DragonX, for alleged player tampering, and the organization took the matter directly to Riot Games Korea. DragonX is in hot water after a post on Twitter that hinted at a possible player tampering. In a now-deleted post, the team made some comments that made it sound like KT Rolster’s mid laner Gwak “BDD” Bo-seong would be joining the team. The post …
Zven announces free agency, Upset rumored to join the LCS William Davis League of Legends Bottom laner Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen has been a free agent for over a month, and the player revealed the details through Twitter. Zven might not be coming back to Team SoloMid. The Danish player is back home in Europe to enjoy his off time. According to a post on his Twitter, Zven has been talking to teams in both Europe and North America, including TSM, for the better part of …
FunPlus Phoenix share picks for 2019 World Champion skins Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends As the winner of the League of Legends 2019 World Championship, FunPlus Phoenix picked champions that will receive the new World Champion skins. Beyond the trophy and a cash prize, winners of League’s Worlds championships get their own set of in-game skins. Players get to choose champions they wish the skins to be designed for, under the condition they played that champion during the main event. Often the champions picked …

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.