League of Legends
League of Legends
G2 Caps reaches rank 1 on EUW server
Nicholas James
G2’s Mid Laner Rasmus “Caps” Winther has reached the heights of the European solo queue, hitting rank one after a subpar playoff run for the organization. G2 Caps has hit the top rank on the Europe West, or EUW, server in League of Legends ranked play. With the offseason in full swing, as teams prepare for MSI 2023, competition is fierce for the top spot. With a 55% win rate …
League of Legends
MSI 2023 Play-In schedule revealed
William Davis
We are days away from MSI 2023 and we have the schedule for the Play-In Stage, including the seeding. MSI 2023 is introducing some major format changes. In this year’s edition, teams starting in the Play-In Stage will play a double elimination bracket instead of going through a single round-robin. The Play-In Stage consists of eight teams playing for three spots at the Bracket Stage. All matches are to the …
League of Legends
Dash “devastated” he’s not invited to MSI
Nicholas James
Ex-LCS host James “Dash” Patterson has announced he wasn’t invited to be part of the MSI 2023 broadcast for the first time ever. Here’s why Dash isn’t at MSI. Dash has been a fixture of the League of Legends esports scene in North America, hosting the LCS as the lead host for practically all of its lifespan as a broadcast. But it was announced in late 2021 that Dash would …
League of Legends
These are all the Mageseeker bosses
Nicholas James
If you’re trying to figure out how far you are into the latest Riot Forge game, here is our full list of all the Mageseeker bosses. There are 13 proper boss fights throughout the course of The Mageseeker, each of them offering a slightly different spin on the game’s signature 2D action gameplay. From the very first boss fight against the Polar Lizard to the final confrontation against a high-ranking …
League of Legends
This Neeko rework interaction can kill her instantly
Nicholas James
The new Neeko rework allows her to turn into minions, monsters, wards, traps, and more, and it has some pretty hilarious consequences. The new Neeko rework has hugely reworked her shapeshifting passive. It used to be that Neeko could disguise herself as members of her own team, but it’s become much more complicated than that. With the new rework on PBE, Neeko has become able to transform into allied minions, …
League of Legends
The next TFT set is being teased in-game
Nicholas James
As Teamfight Tactics: Glitched Out is wrapping up, the next TFT set is going to be teased in-game for TFT fans to speculate about. In a developer blog posted earlier today, Riot Games announced the details of this set’s For Fun patch. The For Fun patch is a staple of Teamfight Tactics, adding wacky features to the game before the next set arrives. This has been going on since TFT’s …
League of Legends
Riot Games announces Worlds Pass 2023 full of rewards
Nicholas James
Riot Games has confirmed that a new type of event reward is coming, with a Worlds Pass packed with rewards for fans of League of Legends and its esports scene. Riot Games recently revealed its upcoming plans to support, grow, and monetize the League of Legends esports space after the departure of Counter-Logic Gaming and the rumored closure of TSM’s esports presence. During this, Riot Games announced a brand new …
League of Legends
A full guide for how to play Twitch in Wild Rift
Nicholas James
Everyone’s favorite poisonous rodent Twitch is coming to Wild Rift, here’s a guide on how to play League of Legends’ resident sewer rat to his best. Twitch is a Dragon lane carry, or an AD carry in League of Legends terms, built to carry entire games on his own with levels and items under his belt. Twitch is a low-mobility attack damage carry with tons of damage and useful invisibility. …
Do you need to play LoL to play The Mageseeker?
William Davis
League of Legends
The League of Legends universe keeps expanding with new media like the animated show Arcane, comics, webtoons, and new games. The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story is the most recent release. Before picking it up, you might be wondering, do you need to play LoL to play The Mageseeker? League of Legends is not the easiest game to learn. It changes from year to year with new mechanics being …
Which Mageseeker edition should you buy?
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The Mageseeker is the latest Riot Forge game, and there are a few options for purchase. Which Mageseeker edition should you buy? There are three versions of the new Riot Forge game available for general purchase right now, the Standard Edition, the Digital Deluxe Edition, and the Collector’s Edition. Each of these offers slightly different incentivizes and reasons to buy them. Here’s a full breakdown of what every one of …
How long is The Mageseeker? Several factors matter
William Davis
League of Legends
The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story is now available just in time for the weekend. If you are looking to complete the game in one go, here is how long The Mageseeker is. The Mageseeker is an action RPG game developed by Digital Sun and published by Riot Forge. The game follows Sylas, the Unshackled, as he escapes imprisonment and seeks revenge against Demacia. This is the third game …
Is The Mageseeker a roguelike? The game’s genre explained
William Davis
League of Legends
The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story is the newest game by Riot Forge in collaboration with Digital Sun. Some fans are wondering, is The Mageseeker a roguelike? We have all the information you need about the game, including its genre. The Mageseeker is the third game released by Riot Games’ publishing label Riot Forge. Like Hextech Mayhem and Ruined King, The Mageseeker was developed by a third-party company instead …
How good is The Mageseeker Steam Deck performance?
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The new Riot Forge game, The Mageseeker, is out on Steam Deck, but how good is the performance? Riot Forge is a publishing effort by League of Legends developer Riot Games to help other studios produce games in the world of League of Legends. The Mageseeker is a 2D action-adventure game that follows the story of Mageseeker-turned-revolutionary Sylas. There are a wide variety of ways to play The Mageseeker, but …
The Neeko rework lets her become jungle monsters
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The midscope update for League of Legends’ resident shapeshifter is getting some wild new abilities. Here’s what’s changing in the Neeko rework. Neeko has long needed a rework in League of Legends, under-filling her fantasy of shapeshifting and ambushing enemies. Riot Games has finally published the new Neeko rework’s abilities on the Public Beta Environment, and it’s as crazy as promised. In previous conversations about Mid-Scope Updates, Riot Games said …
This LoL pro emotes to help win games, here’s how
Nicholas James
League of Legends
League of Legends is a mechanically complex game, but one LoL pro took it to the next level by using emotes to detect if enemies can see him. League of Legends has all sorts of ways to optimize gameplay and find clever strategies to beat your opponents. Most of these are about in-game techniques, but a new way to figure out critical information was revealed by a Chinese pro player. …
C9 Berserker leaks LCS import rule changes
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Cloud9’s LCS AD carry player, Kim “Berserker” Min-Cheol appears to have leaked changes to the LCS import rule that could change the league forever. Currently, the North American professional League of Legends circuit has had a restriction on how many non-resident players were able to play on one roster. Right now, that limit is set to two players from other regions, with some exceptions for players from developing leagues. According …
All the info on the possible Freljord hunter champion
Nicholas James
League of Legends
A new Freljord hunter champion is rumored to be the next playable character released after the current batch that has already been announced. According to content creator Big Bad Bear, the next unannounced champion has been leaked ahead of their arrival to live servers. The next three champions have already been previewed in previously-released Champion Roadmaps. The next champion will be Naafiri, a Darkin assassin, followed by a vampiric jungler …
Bjergsen gave 1-hour notice to 100T, says Nadeshot
Nicholas James
League of Legends
100 Thieves’ LCS roster was recently rocked by the retirement of its midlaner Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, who founder Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag says gave the company a mere one hour’s notice ahead of his retirement. In a recent episode of the 100 Thieves Cast, the founder of the esports organization spoke on Bjergsen’s retirement and his disappointment with how it went. According to Nadeshot, he had approximately a one-hour heads-up before …
What the LCS commissioner resigning means for LCS
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Fans of the North American professional League of Legends circuit were surprised to hear of the LCS commissioner resigning, but what does that mean for the LCS? LCS commissioner Jackie Felling has announced her retirement from League of Legends esports in order to prioritize her health. Felling joined as the Head of League of Legends Esports NA & LCS Commissioner in January of 2022 and has served as the leader …
Kog’Maw passive will get its first buff since Season 1
Nicholas James
League of Legends
League of Legends is getting a historical first, as next patch brings the first Kog’Maw passive buff since the champion’s release 13 years ago. Kog’Maw is one of the oldest champions in the game, being released in Season 1 on Patch 1.0.0.94. Since then, he has never once received a buff to his passive. Kog’Maw’s passive allows him to run around after dying before exploding for AoE damage. However, it’s …
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.
