League of Legends
League of Legends
Dignitas jerseys to feature betting platform in new sponsorship deal
Olivia Richman
Dignitas has signed a three-year partnership deal with betting platform VIE.gg. “I am very proud of this new partnership with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and their Dignitas esports brand, which is founded in our shared common beliefs of player safety above all else,” Esports Entertainment Group’s CEO Grant Johnson said. Esports Entertainment Group’s VIE.gg will be an esport jersey sponsor for three of Dignitas’ teams. This includes Rocket League, …
League of Legends
Team Liquid launches Heal for Real campaign with exclusive merch
William Davis
American esports organization Team Liquid, in collaboration with Blood Centers of America, has launched the Heal for Real initiative. Team Liquid celebrated World Blood Donor Day with a new initiative called Heal for Real. The new campaign encourages Team Liquid fans to become blood donors. In return, they can get some limited edition Team Liquid merchandise. The initiative will run through 2019, and the new donors can join through one …
League of Legends
G2 Wunder uses MS Paint to send a message during live LEC game
Nina Forneloza
In the June 15 LEC clash between G2 Esports and Vitality Esports, Martin “Wunder” Hansen gave a little treat to Pro View spectators by writing a message in Microsoft Paint during the game. The game featured several surprises, such as Luka “PerkZ” Perković bringing Pyke into the bottom lane and the first victory in the LEC for new support champion Yuumi. But it was the MS Paint incident that stole …
League of Legends
LEC summer final heads to Greece for the first time in its history
William Davis
Riot Games has announced Greece as the new destination for the LEC Summer Split finals, with Lion Cereals as the presenting partner. For the first time in history, Athens is hosting the most important European League of Legends event of the summer. On September 7, two teams will compete for a spot in the final match, which will be played out on September 8. “We are very excited to bring …
League of Legends
Team Liquid defeat FlyQuest but future remains uncertain
William Davis
Team Liquid started its week three off right. Despite entering the week on shaky footing, Liquid was able to make the most out of a soft matchup against FlyQuest. This allowed the Spring playoffs champions to keep their place in the intensely competitive LCS standings. FlyQuest opened the game by having Lucas “Santorin” Larsen and Eugene “Pobelter” Park focus in on Liquid mid laner Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen. Multiple roams netted …
League of Legends
Fnatic get revenge on Origen for LEC Spring Playoffs upset
William Davis
Revenge is a dish best served cold and Fnatic proved it on Friday. The LEC elite got a bit of payback on Origen for the squad’s upset win in the semifinals of the LEC 2019 Spring Playoffs. Though Fnatic entered a considerable favorite over Origen, the team undoubtedly felt an extra bit of satisfaction taking this win. The game started in unorthodox fashion for Fnatic with top laner Gabriël “Bwipo” …
League of Legends
Faker collectible statue captures the legendary League player
Nina Forneloza
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok may be the greatest League of Legends player of all time, and will now be immortalized in a limited edition collectible statue from merchandise and apparel makers Superplay. Fans and collectors from all around the world will now be able to own an 11cm tall and 5cm wide statue of the legendary player. The statue is now on sale for $33 and depicts a cartoonish Faker wearing …
League of Legends
Cuzz and Tusin lead Kingzone DragonX over SK Telecom T1 in LCK clash
William Davis
Kingzone DragonX remains undefeated in the LCK after a convincing victory over SK Telecom T1. Spring was all about SKT and Griffin, but the summer is for Kingzone. The team continues to lead the standings with three wins and zero losses. Despite being considered a team of misfits, Kingzone was solid during the spring and are looking to be even stronger in the summer. SKT started jungler Kang “Haru” Min-seung, …
Immortals acquires OpTic Gaming parent company in $100 million deal
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Immortals Gaming Company has officially acquired Infinite Esports, OpTic Gaming’s parent company. The $100 million deal is one of the biggest in the esports industry to date. With the addition of OpTic Gaming, Immortals now has esports teams in even more titles. This includes League of Legends, meaning a possible return to the League of Legends Championship Series. “It feels like a welcome homecoming,” Immortals CEO Ari Segal said. In …
Mordekaiser rework, Ryze and Sylas get big nerfs in new LoL update
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
The latest League of Legends update brings some sizable changes to the game. Patch 9.12 has arrived brings a number of small changes to 10 different heroes alongside some visual and audio overhauls as well as general bug fixes. More importantly, four heroes were given some hefty changes that could shake up the meta at all levels of play. The centerpiece to patch 9.12 is the complete rework of Mordekaiser. …
Riot Games investigated in California for gender discrimination
William Davis
League of Legends
The State of California is investigating Riot Games, the developer behind League of Legends, for allegations of gender discrimination, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times. California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing has filed a court action demanding Riot Games provide it with employee pay data. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing investigates civil rights laws in the state. According to the Los Angeles Times, the …
IG Rookie leaving LPL due to family health issues in Korea
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Reigning world champion Invictus Gaming star mid laner Song “Rookie” Eul-jin has announced that he’s taking a break from playing League of Legends competitively. Rookie is heading to South Korea to rest with his family due to undisclosed health concerns. This was stated on Invictus Gaming’s official Weibo, but the announcement didn’t discuss if Rookie will be returning during this season, or at all. Rookie has been playing League of Legends professionally …
Teamfight Tactics coming to League of Legends, emulates Auto Chess
gabhernandez
League of Legends
Riot is set to introduce Teamfight Tactics, a new strategy game mode inspired by Dota 2’s successful Auto Chess mode. Teamfight Tactics uses League of Legends champions as game pieces on a board. Each round, players are given gold and an opportunity to draft more champions onto their side of the playing board. Each champion has different strengths, weaknesses, and synergies. Once the drafting phase is over, each player’s team …
LCS Scouting Grounds Circuit arrives, partnering Riot and FACEIT
William Davis
League of Legends
Competitive gaming platform FACEIT and Riot Games have announced their partnering for the 2019 LCS Scouting Grounds Circuit. Starting in July, registered amateur teams will have a chance to compete for a spot at the LCS Scouting Grounds event later in the year and a shot at the event’s $60,000 prize pool. The multi-stage tournament will run for three months and will be divided into ten separate online events. The …
Dignitas returns to LCS after merger with Clutch Gaming is completed
William Davis
League of Legends
Team Dignitas is returning to the LCS in 2020, as the merger between the team and Clutch Gaming has been officially announced. After months of speculations and rumors, the Philadelphia 76ers and Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment closed the merger between Clutch Gaming and Dignitas. The first reports surfaced in April when it transpired that Dignitas’ parent company was offering $20 million for a majority stake in Clutch Gaming. Dignitas …
New League of Legends champion Qiyana wields elemental powers
gabhernandez
League of Legends
A new champion is set to hit the Rift. AD assassin Qiyana, the Empress of the Elements, will arrive in League of Legends following a visual update to bruiser Mordekaiser. The new champion looks to be a solo laner with a variety of elemental spells which are channeled through her large circular blade. She is a unique champion that can target and interact with specific parts of the map’s terrain. …
Team Liquid rebound from upset loss by crushing 100 Thieves
William Davis
League of Legends
If anyone was wondering if the Team Liquid League of Legends squad was starting to slip, no. They are not. Coming off a shock upset loss to Echo Fox, Liquid returned to action with an impressive win over 100 Thieves. The victory reestablishes Liquid as one of the clear-cut top contenders of the LCS and leaves 100 Thieves struggling to find its footing. The match was an easy and methodical …
SKT Telecom T1 start summer with narrow win over Jin Air Green Wings
William Davis
League of Legends
SK Telecom T1 started the summer season with a win, but didn’t look especially good in the process. After a disappointing result in the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational, SKT returned to Korea for the 2019 LCK Summer Split. The season started with a match against Jin Air Green Wings, led by star jungler Kim “Malrang” Geun-seong. The early stages of game one favored Jin Air. With a combination of smart rotations, …
G2 crush Splyce in return to Europe after 2019 MSI championship
William Davis
League of Legends
G2 Esports started the LEC Summer Split with a dominating victory over Splyce. G2 is not yet slowing down, as the Mid-Season Invitational champions are back in Berlin and ready to destroy the competition in the new split. Despite not having much practice in the recent patch, G2 obliterated Splyce in a match in which top and mid laners Martin “Wunder” Hansen and Rasmus “Caps” Winther shined. The early game …
Immortals positioned to return to LCS with buyout of OpTic Gaming
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
Immortals has successfully completed its buyout of OpTic Gaming. According to a report by ESPN, Immortals Gaming Club has absorbed OpTic’s parent company, Infinite Esports and Entertainment. Immortals now owns all the assets and obligations of the Texas-based organization. The buyout is worth between $35 and $45 million and was approved by Infinite’s boardroom on May 30. There were multiple bidders for the OpTic Gaming brand outside of Immortals, including …
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
LGD Condi receives 18-month ban after alleged match fixing in China
By
Nina Forneloza
League of Legends
Teamfight Tactics becomes top game on Twitch in its debut
By
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
FlyQuest launches Gamers in Action supporting non-profits, charities
By
William Davis
