League of Legends
League of Legends
Riot CEO investigated for discrimination and sexual harassment
Steven Rondina
Riot Games’ gender discrimination issues continue to linger. Former Riot Games executive assistant Sharon O’Donnell filed suit against the company in January for medical expenses, lost wages, and general damages related to employment. As a result of the suit, the company is investigating CEO Nicolo Laurent for alleged gender discrimination and sexual harassment, per Daily Esports. Riot issued a statement on the matter, acknowledging the investigation: “Core to giving Rioters …
League of Legends
Team Liquid reveals new merch collaboration with Naruto
Olivia Richman
Team Liquid announced its latest merch collaboration earlier today. This time, the esports organization is teaming up with Naruto Shippuden to bring anime and esports fans together. The lifestyle apparel collection combines Hidden Leaf ninjas and Team Liquid’s logo to create one-of-a-kind clothing that blends streetwear with high fashion. The denim jacket, parka, joggers, hoodies, and t-shirts in the collection feature Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and other popular characters from …
League of Legends
Faker publicly disagrees with T1’s 10-man roster
William Davis
The legendary mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok disagrees with his team’s 10-man roster approach. T1 has been experimenting a lot with its new 10-man roster during the first weeks of the 2021 LCK Spring Split and it has been with very mixed results. This has gotten the face of the organization, Faker, to address the approach. More specifically, Faker has admitted in an interview that he thinks it’s stressful for …
League of Legends
Can T1 return to greatness in 2021?
William Davis
T1, formerly known as SK TelecomT1, is indisputably the most popular team in competitive League of Legends. The South Korean organization holds several records, including being the only team to win the World Championship three times. T1 is home of the player who could be considered the face of League of Legends esports, the unkillable demon king, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. T1 won its third World Championship title in 2016 and …
League of Legends
League of Legends generated $1.75 billion in revenue in 2020
William Davis
2020 was a difficult year for many companies, but Riot Games managed to generate $1.75 billion in revenue through League of Legends alone according to SuperData. In a recent report by SuperData, it was discovered that League of Legends alone provided Riot Games with $1.75 billion in revenue on its own. This ranks LoL as number six over revenue from free-to-play titles in 2020 right behind Pokémon GO. Not only …
League of Legends
Popular soloqueue streamer Dopa postpones Korean military service
Tokoni Uti
South Korean streamer and League of Legends player Jeong “Dopa” Sang-gil has announced the postponement of his mandatory military service. In a YouTube video posted yesterday titled “I got military exemption…”, the 27-year-old explains that, while the video title is somewhat exaggerated and he is not completely exempt, he will be temporarily delaying his conscription to continue his streaming career. For Dopa and his fellow South Koreans, all males between …
League of Legends
The LCK does full rebrand ahead of the 2021 season
William Davis
To kick off the 2021 season with style, the LCK has made a full rebrand to its logo, graphics, and overall identity. The list of franchised teams that will compete in the 2021 LCK season was revealed back in November, which the LCK has now followed up with a big rebrand. The rebrand most notably includes a new logo and graphics for the official broadcast. The new brand introduces a …
League of Legends
2022 Asian Games may allow Korean LoL stars to avoid military service
Steven Rondina
The inclusion of esports in the 2022 Asian Games comes with a unique perk for Korean esports players. In South Korea, all adult men must have served at least 18 months in the military by age 28. Exemptions can be given for a variety of reasons, including those classified as “outstanding athletes” who “enhance the national prestige.” Given how the historical baseline for “outstanding athlete” has been success in international …
Former TSM player Chaox explains his return to streaming LoL
William Davis
League of Legends
Former Team SoloMid bot laner Shan “Chaox” Huang is back to pursue streaming after seven years of being under the radar. A familiar face from the early seasons of League of Legends is back and will be streaming regularly once again. In a recent vlog, Chaox talked about his past seven years and what has happened since he was kicked from TSM in 2013. Chaox even addressed a mental breakdown …
How to see how many hours you’ve played League of Legends
William Davis
League of Legends
When a player purchases a video game, they know how many hours it could take them to finish it. Online gaming has no end, so players that choose these types of games don’t know for just how long they’ll be in the queue. Some single-player games might seem like bigger investments at first. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt can stretch up to 100 hours long. According to some accounts, the …
TSM named the most valuable esports organization in the world
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
Business magazine Forbes has released a list of the 10 most valuable esports organizations in the world. Sitting atop the list is the popular Team SoloMid, more frequently referred to as TSM. Forbes talked with a number of stakeholders in the esports industry including organizations, investors, and analysts. The end result is a list of the top-10 most valuable esports companies and an estimated value for each. These are Forbes’ …
How much money is Perkz making at Cloud9 in the LCS?
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2021 League of Legends offseason has been the craziest in the history of the game, with Luka “Perkz” Perković going to Cloud9 as one of the biggest roster swap yet. Not a lot of fans would have expected the former G2 Esports mid and bot laner to join a team in the LCS, but now it has happened. Not only is Perkz one of the best players to ever …
100 Thieves reportedly getting FBI, Closer from Golden Guardians
William Davis
League of Legends
A big deal between 100 Thieves and Golden Guardians is reportedly underway. During the offseason, 100 Thieves has verbally agreed to pick up Ian “FBI” Huang and Can “Closer” Çelik from Golden Guardians, according to Travis Gafford. Sources: Golden Guardians and 100t have verbally agreed to transfer the contracts of Closer and FBI when the trade window opens tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Y7FLCiRjK3 — Travis Gafford (@TravisGafford) November 15, 2020 Both players are …
Team Liquid’s CoreJJ announces marriage to longtime girlfriend
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
League of Legends pro Yongin “CoreJJ” Jo might be married to the game, but not legally. The Team Liquid support announced this morning that he has married his longtime girlfriend. Fans of CoreJJ likely recognize his partner, as the two have been public for a long while. “I’m happy to have someone more precious than myself in my life,” CoreJJ tweeted. We got married!I’m happy to have someone more precious …
K/DA releases first EP with a total of five songs
William Davis
League of Legends
The wait has been long but the virtual League of Legends pop group K/DA has finally released its first EP. We’ve been with THE BADDEST, you got a whole lot MORE, but now it’s time to go #ALLOUT. Available NOW:YouTube: https://t.co/jSLQ2gl6ONSpotify: https://t.co/7M60wuTXfpApple Music: https://t.co/mvp0TkVWLp#KDA #ALLOUT #VILLAIN #DRUMGODUM #ILLSHOWYOU pic.twitter.com/zXe5sgDnA8 — K/DA (@KDA_MUSIC) November 6, 2020 All the songs from the EP ALL OUT are now available on Spotify and Apple …
Why was Voyboy banned from Twitch?
William Davis
League of Legends
League of Legends streamer Joedat “Voyboy” Esfahani has been banned from Twitch. Voyboy was in the middle of his regularly scheduled stream when Twitch hit him with a ban. Voyboy went on Twitter to explain that he doesn’t know the reason for his ban, while Twitch is yet to comment on the situation. By the time of this report, Voyboy had been banned for four hours and counting. Voyboy is …
Suning vs DAMWON Gaming 2020 World Championship betting analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
DAMWON Gaming and Suning are meeting in finals of the 2020 World Championship. It will be an epic battle between the giants in the east as the LCK tries to regain to its former glory. DAMWON is the first LCK team to reach the finals at Worlds since 2017. DAMWON is not your regular LCK team, as the team is not afraid of going for unorthodox picks and is one …
Quickshot and Vedius will cast Worlds 2020 final, Sjokz to host
William Davis
League of Legends
The biggest esports match of the year is approaching and will have some of the best on-air talent available covering it, but it won’t be covered by as many casters as in years past. The 2020 League of Legends World Championship final will be cast by none other than Trevor “Quickshot” Henry and Andy “Vedius” Day. The analyst desk will be hosted by Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere and will include such …
Gamsu retires from Overwatch, plans return to League of Legends
Nina Forneloza
League of Legends
Yeong-Jin “Gamsu” Noh, who most recently played for the Dallas Fuel in the Overwatch League, is returning to League of Legends. Before his days in the OWL, Gamsu was a top laner for Fnatic in LoL. He last played competitive LoL in 2016 with Fnatic and found some success with the team, most notably finishing second place in IEM Katowice behind SK Telecom T1. Prior to OWL’s first season, Gamsu …
Top Esports pulls off first reverse sweep in Worlds history against Fnatic
William Davis
League of Legends
Fnatic fell short against Top Esports at the 2020 League of Legends Worlds Championship in the first reverse sweep in Worlds history. The battle between the Chinese champions and one of the most legendary European organizations unfolded at the Worlds quarterfinals, but with a big edge to the tournament favorites, Top Esports. Both teams impressed during the group stage, but Fnatic still had a lot to prove if they wanted …
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.
