League of Legends
League of Legends
C9 Berserker leaks LCS import rule changes
Nicholas James
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 …
League of Legends
All the info on the possible Freljord hunter champion
Nicholas James
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 …
League of Legends
Bjergsen gave 1-hour notice to 100T, says Nadeshot
Nicholas James
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 …
League of Legends
What the LCS commissioner resigning means for LCS
Nicholas James
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 …
League of Legends
The LCK may be implementing a salary cap due to financial woes
Olivia Richman
The LCK may be facing enough financial troubles to implement a salary cap, reports say. Korean gaming publication Inven recently reported that South Korea’s League of Legends competition might require that all 10 teams implement a salary cap. The article reads that the LCK teams are allegedly in agreement after a discussion about wage costs pointed to the salaries “soaring exponentially.” The LCK is one of the most competitive esports …
League of Legends
How to fix the critical error in League of Legends
William Davis
If you have played League of Legends for long enough, chances are you have encountered more than one bug or error. A critical error in League of Legends might happen, and here is how you can fix it. The League of Legends client is notorious for the ever-growing list of bugs and errors you can encounter. It can break out of the blue without a reason. The good news is …
League of Legends
Cloud9 is the 2023 LCS Spring split champion
William Davis
Cloud9 is the 2023 LCS Spring split champion. The team defeated Golden Guardians to earn back-to-back titles. Cloud9 remains the undisputed LCS champion and is now heading to the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational as the number-one team in North America. The road to finals was an easy one for Cloud9. The defending champion finished the regular season in the first place, only dropping four matches, one of them against Golden Guardians. …
League of Legends
This LoL bug turns champions tiny
Nicholas James
League of Legends has been home to some pretty goofy bugs, but one that turns champions absolutely tiny is one of the wackiest. Have you ever wanted to know what a certain champion would look like if they were reduced to the size of a mini-Krug? Well luckily you can do just that — it only requires two specific champions to be in the game. Here’s how this LoL bug …
Legendary LCS star Bjergsen retires from esports after 11 years
William Davis
League of Legends
LCS star Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg announced he is retiring from the competitive League of Legends. After 11 years in the competitive scene, Bjergsen is retiring from the esports space. The mid laner announced his retirement through his personal YouTube channel. Bjergsen first joined the scene in 2012 when he played for Western Wolves. In 2013, Bjergsen joined TSM, marking the beginning of a long and successful career in North America. …
Gen.G wins 2023 LCK Spring season!
William Davis
League of Legends
Gen.G is the 2023 LCK Spring Champion after pulling off a major upset against T1. Gen.G completed a 3-1 victory over T1 in the LCK final, securing back-to-back titles. Gen.G has now secured a spot at the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational Bracket Stage. T1 will also be attending the event and starting on the Play-In Stage. Gen.G has defied the expectations in the LCK Spring playoffs. After the departure of iconic …
No Arcane Season 2 coming in 2023, says Riot Games CEO
Nicholas James
League of Legends
In a recent interview, Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent confirmed that Arcane Season 2 will not be coming out in 2023. Since the hit animated adaptation of League of Legends surged to widespread popularity in 2021, many fans have been waiting to hear about the next installment. Arcane’s second season had been announced shortly after the first season had ended, but nothing solid had been confirmed for the future. In …
NRG back in the LCS after acquiring CLG
William Davis
League of Legends
Los Angeles-based organization NRG has completed the acquisition of CLG, marking its return to the LCS. NRG is back in League of Legends after a seven-year absence. The team that officially disbanded in 2016 is back on the scene after completing the acquisition of CLG and its LCS slot. Earlier this week, fans were saddened to learn CLG would be shutting down for good. According to a report by Travis …
CLG likely to shut down, exiting esports entirely
William Davis
League of Legends
Esports may say goodbye to another iconic name soon, with CLG allegedly preparing to shut down entirely. The esports industry continues to stumble in 2023, with multiple high-profile sponsorship deals and team partnerships continuing to fall through. CLG may be next, according to unconfirmed reports by established LoL journalist Travis Gafford. The company itself has not acknowledged these rumors, but it wouldn’t be out of place in the industry’s current …
MAD Lions could win the LEC with a negative winrate
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
Two-time LEC champions MAD Lions could actually go on to win the Spring title with an overall negative win/loss record. Due to the double-elimination structure of both the group stage and playoffs, each remaining team will be able to win the split with a minimum of 10 more wins and a maximum of nine more losses. For MAD, who already carry over a negative winrate, this means that they could …
TSM might be leaving the LCS in 2023
William Davis
League of Legends
One of North America’s most popular esports brands might exit the scene. TSM is putting a pause on its esports efforts according to a report by the Sports Business Journal. This could mean that TSM is leaving the LCS in 2023. TSM might not be as profitable as the team claimed to be after all. The organization is pausing its esports efforts and instead focusing on its player development app …
MSI 2023 schedule, format, and qualified teams
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2023 Mid-Season Invitational, shortened as MSI, is the first international event of the year. We are still a couple of weeks away from the event, but here is everything you need to know ahead of the massive global tournament. MSI is the first international event of the year in 2023, and it is getting some major changes. The event received some criticism in 2022 due to the format and …
FLY Spica on C9 loss: “We just got f—ing destroyed”
Nicholas James
League of Legends
WIN.gg talked with Mingyi “Spica” Lu, the jungler for FlyQuest’s LCS roster, after a rapid 0-3 loss to Cloud9 in the upper bracket of LCS 2023 Spring Split playoffs. After a one-sided series against Cloud9, we caught up with Spica to talk about his loss to their fellow first-place finishers, the changes in the jungle meta, the new Mid-Season Invitational format, and his hopes for a better future in playoffs. …
Best Milio build, runes, and items
Nicholas James
League of Legends
League of Legends’ latest champion, Milio, The Gentle Flame has been taking over the game, here is the best Milio build. Milio is a brand new enchanter from Ixtal with very exciting new abilities. It’s been a while since an independent enchanter got released, and the item system has changed a lot recently. Here’s how to succeed with Milio in League of Legends thanks to the best Milio build, runes, …
This infinite mana and damage bug ruined ranked
Nicholas James
League of Legends
This infinite mana and damage bug ruined League of Legends’ ranked, and it comes from the most unlikely of places, the Undo button in the shop. A recent bug in League of Legends was responsible for players getting effectively infinite mana and damage, and it was ruining ranked games. Rather than some other bugs, which require very specific champions to occur, this could be pulled off by any champion in …
CLG Contractz looks to EG: “I wish it was Sunday already”
Nicholas James
League of Legends
WIN.gg spoke with CLG’s LCS jungler Juan “Contractz” Garcia about his style of play, the team’s success, and what comes next after the team’s 3-1 loss to Cloud9 in the second game of the 2023 Spring Split Playoffs. Contractz is a veteran of the LCS, entering as a high-value rookie who took the LCS stage by storm with his aggressive play. In 2023, he’s an experienced voice who has found …
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.
