League of Legends
League of Legends
Riot is fixing the most-hated ARAM feature
Nicholas James
Riot Games is fixing the All Random All Mid mode’s most-fated recent addition, here’s what changes are coming to ARAM. ARAM is a more casual game mode for League of Legends where all ten players are randomly assigned champions. Then both teams of five players play a match on one single large lane. Recently, Riot Games made several changes in order to improve this game mode. One of those changes …
League of Legends
This LoL pro flamed a teammate sitting beside him
Nicholas James
A Chinese LoL pro player flamed a player in solo queue who turned out to be his professional play teammate who was sitting right beside him the entire time. Li “Xiahu” Yuan-Hao, the current mid laner for Weibo Gaming in the Chinese LPL was playing a ranked match of League of Legends that wasn’t going very well and he decided to voice his complaints about his teammates’ play. What he …
League of Legends
Could these be LoL MMO raid bosses?
Nicholas James
The untitled League of Legends MMO is still in development and has a long road before completion, but here are some possible LoL MMO raid bosses that already exist in the lore. Riot Games announced it was working on an MMORPG set in League of Legends’ fictional world, Runeterra, during its 10th anniversary celebration. Since then, information has slowly been released about the careful development process and what fans can …
League of Legends
Riot reportedly investigating Danny and Evil Genius scandal
Olivia Richman
Riot Games is allegedly investigating Evil Geniuses’ treatment of Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki. In February of 2023, Richard Lewis reported the behind-the-scenes issues at EG that led Danny to leave pro League of Legends. Danny had seemingly left abruptly in the middle of the LCS playoffs, but Lewis wrote that Danny was not given the support he needed during his time on the team. Another journalist, Arsh Goyal, then outlined more …
League of Legends
Riot Games wants to stop junglers camping bot lane
Nicholas James
Riot Games has weighed in on the current state of the meta game, saying it wants to make it less profitable for junglers camping bot lane. Season 13 has begun with a distinct focus on the bottom lane on Summoner’s Rift. With AD carries becoming so strong that they’re being played as supports, and recent buffs to Critical Strike itemization, bot lane is a volatile place to be. Junglers have …
League of Legends
New Champion Milio, the Gentle Flame revealed
Nicholas James
The next champion to come to League of Legends has been revealed. Here’s what you need to know about Milio, the Gentle Flame. Milio is an upcoming enchanter support from the kingdom of elemental magic, Ixtal. He’d been announced at the start of the year, with some hints from 2021 also pointing at his arrival. The details are now clear, and fans have gotten their first look at Milio’s aesthetic, …
League of Legends
EG reportedly failed to protect star LCS star Danny
Nicholas James
According to reports, esports organization Evil Geniuses failed to protect one of their star LCS players, Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki. According to a report by Dexerto’s Richard Lewis, speaking with sources close to Evil Geniuses’ LCS operation, Evil Geniuses failed in its responsibility to care for a star player on its LCS roster until it was too late. Danny suddenly departed the LCS 2022 Summer Split after his rapid ascension to …
League of Legends
Everything we know about the Skarner rework
Nicholas James
One of the most-anticipated events each year in League of Legends is the annual full Visual Gameplay Update for an old champion, here’s what we know about the 2023 Skarner rework. Skarner is the next champion to get a full redesign from aesthetic to the story to gameplay, which Riot Games calls a Visual Gameplay Update. Each year, League of Legends players get the chance to vote for one of …
Fnatic ex-ADC Upset joins Vitality after disastrous Winter
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Elias “Upset” Lipp, the once-AD carry for Fnatic, has joined Team Vitality after a disappointing end to LEC Winter 2023 for both organizations. Upset was previously the AD carry for Fnatic’s LEC roster from 2020 to 2022 before being put on its inactive roster and replaced by Martin “Rekkles” Larsson in 2023. Since then, his absence from the LEC has been a subject of much discussion. The veteran marksman player’s …
New LoL champions Milio and Naafiri teased in Nidalee VO
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Details about the next new champions, Milio and Naafiri, have been teased by new voice lines for Nidalee, recently added to League of Legends. The next two champions for League of Legends have both had their names, loose thematic, and some details released ahead of their proper reveals. One is an Ixtali support named Milio, the other is a Darkin assassin who awakens in Shurima named Naafiri. We already know …
Yuumi rework abilities explained and release date revealed
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The Yuumi rework has hit the Public Beta Environment, so here’s everything that has changed and what you should expect. Yuumi is one of the most-hated champions in all of League of Legends in her current form. With the ability to hop onto an ally and become practically untouchable while she heals, peels, and speeds up her host, it’s hard not to hate losing to her. At the same time, …
Why MtG players should play Legends of Runeterra
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Legends of Runeterra is Riot Games’ free-to-play online card game set in the world of League of Legends. Here’s why Magic: The Gathering players should try it out. Magic: The Gathering is the most successful collectible card game in the world, with tens of millions of players worldwide. Despite its enormous worldwide success, there are only two proper analogs for online MtG play, and both have their problems. From Magic …
Riot Games changing champion prices, and Jhin loves it
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Champions are the most central concept to League of Legends since each champion is a unique character for players to choose from when it comes to gameplay and lore. So it’s huge news that Riot Games is changing all the champion prices. The rate at which champions are released has varied greatly over League of Legends’ lifespan. In the very beginning, Riot Games would release a new champion every two …
An interview with Vandett0, ex-Astralis LEC coach
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
Jonas Erik “Vandett0” Toth Jensen talks Astralis’ LEC performance and his future career plans in our exclusive interview. We spoke with coach Vandett0 following the announcement of his departure from Astralis’ LEC coaching staff. Astralis broke the news in a tweet, citing issues with “the match in the coaching group” as the reason for the change. The former assistant coach graciously opened up with WIN.gg about that lack of a …
League of Legends free champion rotation — March 14
Nicholas James
League of Legends
League of Legends lets fans test out a series of champions for free every week, allowing you to try out someone new without unlocking them. Here’s the weekly League of Legends free champion rotation. There are over 140 champions in League of Legends, each with completely unique abilities. With prices ranging all the way up to 6300 Blue Essence, it can be very difficult for fans to unlock all of …
What’s happening to League of Legends lore?
Nicholas James
League of Legends
League of Legends has always had a lore problem, but it seems like the MOBA is encountering entirely new problems when it comes to storytelling. MOBA games like League of Legends have a distinct lack of opportunities to tell stories about their characters and worlds during the game. Given that almost every match happens on the same map, with a wide variety of champions, the state of the world has …
How Riot made the iconic Worlds 2022 Opening Ceremonies
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The Worlds 2022 Opening Ceremonies were the biggest performance of the League of Legends year, here’s how Riot Games pulled them off. The World Championships are the biggest event of the year, and it’s always given the scale to match its status. In 2022, massive artists Jackson Wang and Lil Nas X were brought on to step up the production. In a recent video, the League of Legends developer took …
Riot reveals details for the new LoL deathmatch mode
Nicholas James
League of Legends
League of Legends is getting a brand new way to play the game in 2023, and here’s what we know about the new LoL deathmatch mode. Riot Games announced at the start of the year that it was intending to bring a new game mode to League of Legends. On February 21, 2023, the company clarified that this would be a brand-new 2v2v2v2 deathmatch-like mode. It also announced a new …
How to get better at warding in League of Legends
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Warding is one of the most important skills in League of Legends, here’s how to get better at warding. Information is king in League of Legends, and wards are one of the best ways to gather that information. Unlike wave management, looking to trade, and similar mechanics, its not as simple to learn. Warding is a situational skill that relies on a player’s macro knowledge of the game and their …
Markoon reflects on last LEC week, says SK played “pretty bad”
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
We spoke with SK Gaming’s Mark “Markoon” van Woensel following his side’s swift 2-0 win over Team Heretics in their LEC Winter matchup. The Dutch jungler discussed the victory and looked ahead to SK’s next series against Team Vitality with a chance to make it to the playoffs. In this interview, Markoon gave his thoughts on his opposing junglers Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski and Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo, including how he felt …
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.
