League of Legends
League of Legends
Riot Games 2023 plans include Teemo, Lee Sin updates
Nicholas James
Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, has announced its plans for 2023, including a brand-new game mode and even plans for the lore. 2023 has been a mixed year for Riot Games so far. While League of Legends seems bigger than ever, Season 13 was off to a rocky start after significant fan backlash over the decision made by Riot Games. From LCS logistics to the season start …
League of Legends
League of Legends Amazon Prime February rewards
Nicholas James
The League of Legends Amazon Prime Gaming rewards for February are here, here’s how you can receive the rewards as well as what to expect. Amazon Prime and Riot Games have several ongoing collaborations in which subscribing to Amazon’s premium subscription service gives the player several free rewards in the game every month. Some fans were worried that Prime Gaming rewards were going away in League of Legends after January’s …
League of Legends
All we know about Riot Forge’s upcoming League of Legends titles in 2023
Fariha Bhatti
Fans of the League of Legends should buckle up for an exciting year as Riot Forge has lifted the curtain on three unreleased LoL-themed titles for 2023. While Riot Games is busy delivering crucial updates to existing, established titles, Forge focuses on doubling down on the lore by creating character-specific titles with the help of developers around the world. The successful game Hextech Mayhem released in 2021, is a great …
League of Legends
How to buy MSI 2023 tickets in London, England
Nicholas James
League of Legends’ Mid-Season Invitational is on its way to a nation that has never before hosted an international competition, MSI 2023 is coming to London. If you want to experience the London Underground at rush hour, international LoL competition, and curry that might be spicier than the MSI games, it’s the perfect location. The location was announced earlier this year to much celebration from UK League of Legends fans. …
League of Legends
Was this Fnatic’s worst split ever?
Nicholas James
Fnatic is one of the founding organizations in Europe, the champions of the first ever League of Legends World Championship, but is 2023 Fnatic’s worst year ever? Fnatic has, at previous points, been a name synonymous with repeat championships and excellence in Europe’s LEC. The organization has won multiple domestic championships and competed internationally at Worlds and MSI. While the organization has had moments of glory and even victories in …
League of Legends
This Rell and Taric armor glitch broke League of Legends
Nicholas James
Two supports isn’t what you expect when unkillable juggernauts are mentioned, but this Rell and Taric glitch makes them nearly invincible. Rell and Taric are two relatively low-damage supports, each focusing on providing value to their team in other ways. So combining the two together to try and tower dive enemies carries isn’t something that should work, but that’s exactly what’s been happening in some ranked games. There’s an unintended …
League of Legends
Which champions are getting reworks in 2023?
Nicholas James
Riot Games has a time-honored tradition of revamping characters in League of Legends with champion reworks, but which champions are getting reworks in 2022? What constitutes a champion rework has changed over time, and there are two different types of reworks that Riot Games does in present times. From fan-voted reworks to small-scale new designs for abilities, updating outdated champions is a core part of keeping League of Legends’ gameplay …
League of Legends
Rekkles apologizes for poor performance at Winter Split
Nicholas James
Martin “Rekkles” Larsson has issued an apology to fans for his poor performance in the LEC Winter Split, here’s everything you need to know about Rekkles’ apology. Rekkles is one of the most respected names in professional League of Legends over the years. With many championships, he’s solidified himself as a long-lasting veteran of the European scene. The bot lane famously spent the best years of his career with Fnatic …
Riot Games accidentally deleted patch 13.1B
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Riot Games just accidentally reverted all of Patch 13.1B for League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, here’s what happened. On February 6, 2023, League of Legends players began to notice some odd goings-on in their games. Patch 13.1B had been launched as a partial replacement for the missing patch 13.2, which was delayed due to hackers stealing Riot Games’ source code. The B-patch was meant to partially launch some of …
Aurelion Sol rework build and runes
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The new Aurelion Sol rework made its way onto the Public Beta Environment ahead of his planned release on patch 13.3, here’s the best Aurelion Sol rework build and runes. Aurelion Sol is one of the League of Legends’ most memorable and iconic champions. He’s a giant, self-absorbed, galaxy-forging space dragon with an aesthetic and voice-over to match. However, for much of his lifetime in the game, he’s been one …
LCS segment on TSM drama results in backlash
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The North American professional League of Legends broadcast hosted a segment about Peng “Doublelift” Yilang and TSM’s history that resulted in fan backlash and an apology from the LCS commissioner. The LCS hosted a segment on Doublelift’s history and past drama with the TSM organization, hosted by Gabriella “LeTigress” Devia-Allen. The segment took fans on a brief recap of Doublelift’s many championships with the team, his departure for Team Liquid, …
Aurelion Sol rework easter egg happens 1% of the time
Nicholas James
League of Legends
There’s a new Aurelion Sol rework easter egg that fans have spotted, but it only happens 1% of the time. The upcoming Aurelion Sol rework is set to revolutionize the champion’s abilities and play style without touching his iconic appearance, story, and voiceover. This has given him an entirely new set of tools and capabilities to approach the game with. Along with these, Riot Games has added a rare interaction …
TFT Patch 13.1B best teams tier list
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Teamfight Tactics: Monsters Attack has begun to hit its stride on the live servers, here’s a TFT Patch 13.1B tier list. Teamfight Tactics: Monsters Attack has introduced new systems, champions, and compositions to Riot Games’ Runeterra-themed auto battler. After some delays caused by a social engineering attack, Patch 13.1B is the latest change to the balance of the Convergence. It brings with it new priorities and possibilities when it comes …
Huge Hero Augment changes address player concerns
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The new Teamfight Tactics set, Teamfight Tactics: Monsters Attack, is having major Hero Augment changes made to address complaints about the new mechanic. Teamfight Tactics: Monsters Attack is inspired by ToHo monster movies and superhero flicks. Part of this theme is the addition of the brand new type of Augments: Hero Augments. Hero Augments are a type of Augment that is offered in some games of TFT to the whole …
Players still seeing usernames in League of Legends ranked
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Riot Games introduced a system that hides Summoner’s names during ranked champion select, but players claim that they can still see ranked usernames in League of Legends. For most of League of Legends’ history, seeing the usernames of your teammates in champion select was simply a part of the game. The player’s in-game name would be displayed underneath their champion icon and players were free to check their teammates’ match …
“I never think about losing to any team” – An interview with TL CoreJJ
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-In is a world champion staring down yet another season in North America, he took the time to talk about his new team, the current meta, and advice for teammates. After a disappointing winless start for Team Liquid, CoreJJ took time out of his day to chat with WIN.gg about the current state of the bot lane. This year’s Team Liquid roster looks very different from 2022. How …
The worst and best Season 13 League of Legends champions
Nicholas James
News
The 2023 League of Legends season has arrived with new items, a new drake, and tons of big changes for players, so here are the worst and the best Season 13 champions. Season 13 has brought some serious changes to League of Legends, bringing the usual large-scale rebalances and system changes that players associate with the preseason. This year has brought the return of Chemtech Drake, an overhaul to the …
“I’m gonna see if [A-Sol] is a viable support”: 100T Huhi
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun took the time to talk with WIN.gg about his return to Golden Guardians, playing with Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes again, and the new Aurelion Sol rework. Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun has competed in the LCS since 2014. His eight years of competitive play have seen him swap from mid lane to support and reemerge as a top-level competitor on his new role. After departing from 100 Thieves and returning …
“Rod of Ages is kind of a bulls— item”: Jensen talks LCS
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen is a staple of the LCS, having played in North America since 2015. In our interview, he takes the time to chat about settling in at Dignitas and what makes the 2023 season feel different. Jensen has been a mainstay of the LCS for a long time, often considered alongside Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg for North America’s greatest veteran mid lane talents. 2023 seems him stepping away yet …
“S— on people in lane”: 100T Tenacity talks 2023 LCS season
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Fresh off of his first game as an LCS starter, Milan “Tenacity” Oleksij took time to chat about playing with LCS veterans, how he wants to play, and his thoughts on the league. 100 Thieves’ first game in 2023 LCS was a one-sided loss to Cloud9, but that doesn’t stop one of the team’s new players from keeping a positive attitude. Rookie top laner Tenacity spoke with WIN.gg about the …
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.
