League of Legends
League of Legends
Riot Games announces upcoming fighting game at Evo 2019
William Davis
It’s official. League of Legends developer Riot Games is creating a fighting game. Evo founder and Riot employee Tom Cannon confirmed the game’s existence on the first day of Evo 2019 during a live talk show. “Back in 2016 when we joined forces with Riot I said that we were going to go in the hole for a while,” Cannon said. “I want to be able to let people in …
League of Legends
SKT destroys Kingzone DragonX, secures LCK playoffs spot
William Davis
SK Telecom T1 is on an eight-game winning streak. With the playoffs looming on the horizon, SKT finds itself in a great position after a convincing victory over Kingzone DragonX. The 2019 LCK Spring Split champions moved up to third place with a 9-5 record. The early stage of game one was all about the junglers. Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan helped his solo laners while Kim “Clid” Tae-min played through the …
League of Legends
League of Legends legacy cursor disappears and returns in one day
William Davis
Riot Games removed the legacy cursor from League of Legends only to return it to live servers within the span of a day following a community backlash. The legacy cursor was unexpectedly erased on July 30. The removal was intended as a minor interface tweak, but it spawned an unexpected amount of outrage from fans and players alike. Many players were not ready to part ways with one of the …
League of Legends
Teamfight Tactics patch 9.16 to add four new champions, Hextech
William Davis
Teamfight Tactics is adding four new champions and the new Hextech origin. Camille, Jayce, Vi, and Jinx are joining the Teamfight Tactics ranks as Hextech units. The breakpoints for the Hextech origin are two and four, and these units can disable two and four random items on the enemy’s board at the start of combat. It’s common for players to stack most of their items into one or two units, …
League of Legends
FlyQuest head coach on missing playoffs, preparing for gauntlet
Olivia Richman
FlyQuest may not be living up to fan expectations with their current 5-11 record. Their ninth place position seems like a step down from their fourth-place finish in the LCS Spring Split. This time, they won’t even make it to the LCS Summer Split playoffs. But head coach Gabriel “Invert” Zedoltan-Johan isn’t too worried about that. Right now, FlyQuest has their eyes on the gauntlet. WIN.gg sat down with Invert …
League of Legends
Riot Games looking to fix high-level LoL matchmaking troubles
William Davis
The woes of top League of Legends players might be coming to an end. After months of complaints, Riot Games is finally giving some answers regarding the matchmaking problems at high ranks. Jonathan “RiotIAmWalrus” Moormann, designer at Riot Games, shared the news on his personal Twitter account. “We’ve heard concerns about matchmaking at high ranks, and we’re testing out some changes that would get closer matches with longer queue times,” …
League of Legends
Pantheon rework detailed by Riot, but no release date given
M Alzamora
League of Legends champion Pantheon is getting a significant rework. Riot Games teased fans of the character with a new behind-the-scenes look at their work on his transformation. Almost all of Pantheon’s abilities are getting alterations in a planned update and while the champion should feel familiar to longtime players, Riot is tweaking his kit to balance out his power. The most notable change is the ultimate ability. Grand Skyfall …
League of Legends
Clutch Gaming’s Cody Sun: We knew we were the better team
Olivia Richman
Clutch Gaming is feeling pretty good after this past weekend. With only one more week of the LCS Summer Split, the team needs to win their last two games against 100 Thieves and Golden Guardians to clinch the last spot in the playoffs. And Sun “Cody Sun” Li-Yu told WIN.gg that they’re planning to do just that. How do you feel about your recent win against FlyQuest? It feels pretty good. …
100 Thieves FakeGod talks turning the LoL team’s fortunes around
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
100 Thieves was feeling quite relieved after defeating TeamSoloMid this weekend. Thanks to the victory, 100 Thieves is still in the running to make playoffs, even after a loss to Golden Guardians the day before. The win was due in part to the addition of top laner Aaron “FakeGod” Lee and mid laner Yoo “Ryu” Sang-wook. The two were promoted from the 100 Thieves Academy team in June, and have been responsible …
Flash Wolves will miss the LMS playoffs for the first time
William Davis
League of Legends
For the first time since 2015, Flash Wolves will miss the 2019 LMS playoffs. It’s a sad day for Flash Wolves fans, as the team is missing playoffs for the first time in over four years. Flash Wolves was founded in 2013 and the team finally made it to the LMS for the 2015 spring season. The team is currently at the bottom of the standings with only two wins …
Xmithie explains Team Liquid’s loss to Cloud9, LCS playing faster
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Team Liquid was unable to further their six-game win streak after losing to Cloud9 today. But despite the loss, Liquid is still in first place in the LCS Summer Split, maintaining their title as the best North American League of Legends team. Jake Kevin “Xmithie” Puchero, TL’s jungler, discussed his team’s loss and if they’re ready to take on other regions in the World Championship. Cloud9 were the last to defeat …
Cloud9 in playoffs with upset versus Team Liquid
William Davis
League of Legends
Cloud9 closed things out on Sunday with a major upset win over Team Liquid. Week eight in the 2019 LCS Summer Split was full of surprises. Just when Team Liquid was ready to lock up first place in the regular season, Cloud9 took a crucial game. Bot laner Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi is back with the team after a brief moment on the bench. In the match versus Team Liquid, Cloud9 drafted …
Contractz talks Golden Guardians improving, integrating FBI and Huhi
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Golden Guardians dominated OpTic Gaming today, resulting in another win for the team this weekend. The underdog squad is well on their way to the playoffs, and well on their way to not being considered the underdog for much longer. Juan “Contractz” Garcia spoke with WIN.gg about his team’s slow rise up the ranks of North American League of Legends and why people are wrong to underestimate them now. How …
FBI confident that Golden Guardians will be in the LCS playoffs
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
The Golden Guardians are one step closer to making playoffs after finishing the weekend with a 2-0 record. Many analysts had not expected GGS to defeat 100 Thieves or OpTic Gaming, but that’s exactly what they did. And while their two wins may have surprised the League of Legends community, but bot laner Ian Victor “FBI” Huang was quite confident his team could do. WIN.gg spoke with FBI about his promotion …
Gen.G brings merch to United States by partnering with Meta Threads
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
Korean esports organization Generation Gaming, better known as Gen.G, has partnered up with Meta Threads as their apparel provider for the North American market. Meta Threads will produce and distribute Gen.G branded apparel starting with the Gen.G 2019 Pro Jersey. They join a long list of other organizations working with the merch manufacturer including Team Liquid, Immortals, and NRG Esports. Gen.G chief operating officer Arnold Hur said the organization is …
Team Liquid comeback over OpTic Gaming moves them closer to top seed
William Davis
League of Legends
Team Liquid pulled off a wild comeback against OpTic Gaming. OpTic had Team Liquid against the ropes but it wasn’t enough to take down the defending champion. In the pick and bans, OpTic went back to comfort with Poppy for top laner Niship “Dhokla” Doshi. The team drafted a composition with multiple engaging tools, which OpTic used to get a double kill in the bottom lane to set the game into …
Cain and Reapered construct their LCS dream teams in interview
William Davis
League of Legends
Team Liquid and Cloud9 coaches Jang “Cain” Nu-ri and Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu drafted their North American dream teams. On InvenGlobal’s the “Reapered Show,” the coaches had a chance to sit down and discuss the state of the LCS. One of the sections was the “Have it My Way Draft” where they both got the opportunity to draft their LCS dream teams. Both coaches took part, with the only rule being that …
Cloud9 benches Sneaky against FlyQuest ahead of LCS Summer Playoffs
William Davis
League of Legends
Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi was benched in the match versus FlyQuest. Sneaky might be one of the faces of Cloud9 but his spot in the squad is evidently not secure. The bot laner remains a top tier player, but many believe his lack of impact has been hindering Cloud9’s chances in the 2019 LCS Summer Split. With that in mind, the team decided to switch things up in week eight. Cloud9 Academy player …
Riot Games under fire for helping China monitor players
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
Riot Games is under fire from the Los Angeles Times for its participation in China’s increased surveillance of its citizenry. The Chinese version of League of Legends tracks how long its players spend in-game in order to limit the time minors spend gaming. The so-called anti-addiction system includes warnings to players when they’ve reached their daily playtime limit, denial of time-based rewards, and kicking players out of the game. This …
Fiddlesticks and Volibear to receive LoL visual game updates in 2020
gabhernandez
League of Legends
Responding to a poll held in May, Riot announced that both Fiddlesticks and Volibear will be receiving visual game updates. Volibear and Fiddlesticks have been outdated both visually and mechanically for years. Riot hopes to remedy that in 2020 with a VGU to strengthen their themes and solidify their direction as characters. Gameplay Designer Blake “Squad5” Smith hopes to amplify and highlight Fiddlesticks’ niche as the most terrifying champion in …
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
LoL Patch 9.15 brings buffs, PROJECT skins, and a legacy cursor scare
By
William Davis
League of Legends
Teamfight Tactics Patch 9.15 brings big nerfs to demons, void rework
By
William Davis
League of Legends
Riot Games taking steps to improve LoL’s competitive integrity
By
William Davis
