League of Legends
News
K/DA to release EP ALL OUT, new song debuts at Worlds 2020
William Davis
The first EP from K/DA, entitled ALL OUT, has been made official. K/DA DEBUT EP [ALL OUT] // STREAM ON 11.06.2020#KDA #ALLOUT #CALLINGALLBLADES #COMINGSOON pic.twitter.com/wxdCwwwgEA — K/DA (@KDA_MUSIC) October 2, 2020 The popular League of Legends virtual pop group will continue its return with a complete EP that includes more new songs and special features. The EP was teased when the group returned with its latest song THE BADDEST in …
League of Legends
LPL introduces salary cap, and it might be bad for pro players
Steven Rondina
China’s top League of Legends league is looking to emulate traditional sports leagues, but not necessarily a good way. According to Lan Xiong Sports, the league announced its plans to implement an NBA-style salary cap starting with the 2021 season. This carries serious ramifications for how teams will be built in the LPL and could be a big hit to the finances of players in the region. At the Global …
League of Legends
Destiny loses Twitch partnership for “encouraging violence”
Olivia Richman
Popular streamer Steven Kenneth “Destiny” Bonnell II has lost his Twitch partnership for “encouraging violence.” Destiny is a variety streamer with over 576,000 followers on Twitch. He’s well known for playing League of Legends, although he’s been found in the Just Chatting category in recent broadcasts. Although there has been no official statement from Twitch on the partnership matter, Destiny did note earlier today that the streaming platform had emailed …
League of Legends
Caps calls G2 the greatest EU roster ever, but is it really?
William Davis
After G2 Esports won its fourth consecutive LEC trophy, Danish mid laner Rasmus “Caps” Winther spoke very highly about his team, calling it the best European roster ever. In an interview with Skysports, Caps said that he thinks it’s fair to call G2 the greatest European rosters after both domestic and international success in recent years. “I think it’s fair to say we’re the greatest EU roster – we obviously …
League of Legends
Sneaky’s latest sexy cosplay transforms him into a gamer girl
Olivia Richman
Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi used to be Cloud9’s talented AD carry. But it’s clear now that the League of Legends veteran is most popular for his streaming and monthly cosplay photoshoots. Every month, Sneaky posts two photos of his recent cosplays on Twitter. By now, fans know that they can get the full photoshoot, complete with sexier pics or signed polaroids, by subscribing to Sneaky’s racy Patreon. Every month, Cloud9 tells …
League of Legends
Riot makes competitive ruling on Greek match manipulation case
William Davis
Riot Games has issued a competitive ruling against four players from the Greek Legends League, a top League of Legends competition in Greece, for manipulating match results during the 2019 Winter Split and 2020 Spring Split. The four involved players are Grigoris “Kobazz” Kovalegos, Panagiotis “Tython” Kobothekras, Thanasis “Tanacee” Vlahogiannis, and Vaios “Lunny” Dimzas, each of whom was found guilty in colluding to manipulate match results with the sole intent …
League of Legends
The rise, fall, and potential rise again of Unicorns of love
Jared Wynne
Unicorns of Love was the ultimate meta breaker, and in more ways than one. From their name and uniform to their play style and identity, everything the team did flew in the face of League of Legends conventions. They didn’t have to go to Worlds or win titles to earn devotion from fans, they just had to be themselves. It’s worth looking back at the original roster that rose from …
League of Legends
FunPlus Phoenix knocked out of 2020 LPL playoffs by Victory Five
William Davis
Current World Champion FunPlus Phoenix has been eliminated from the 2020 LPL Summer playoffs in the first round. In its first playoffs appearance, Victory Five achieved the seemingly impossible and knocked FunPlus Phoenix immediately out of playoffs. The best-of-five series finished after four games that looked one-sided for the most part. V5 picked up games one and two without much difficulty. At match point, it was time for top laner …
IWillDominate loses LPP status, can’t co-stream on Twitch
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Popular League of Legends streamer Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera has been removed from Riot’s League of Legends Partner Program. IWillDominate reveived a message from LPP stating that he’s now on probation from the League Partner Program due to some of his recent comments not aligning “with the current values of the LPP or Summoner’s Code.” That resulted in him being removed from the LPP Discord, no longer having access to League …
Hashinshin permanently banned from Twitch for grooming minors
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
After months of sexual assault and rape accusations against popular Twitch streamers, the platform seems to be taking serios action against some of those accused. Esports insider Rod “Slasher” Breslau tweeted earlier today that League of Legends content creator Robert “Hashinshin” Brotz has been permanently banned from Twitch for grooming a minor. In the tweet, Slasher states that a source told him that one of Hashinshin’s victims had made a …
FunPlus Phoenix announces Khan roster move after losing streak
William Davis
League of Legends
Big changes are coming for the FunPlus Phoenix roster in week eight of the 2020 LPL Summer Split. FunPlus Phoenix is not currently having a good time in the LPL. The reigning world champion is on a four-game losing streak that has led to an emergency roster move. FPX has decided to bench top laner Kim “Khan” Dong-ha and to instead start Kim “GimGoon” Han-saem. GimGoon last played for FunPlus …
Hashinshin responds to accusations of grooming a minor
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
The League of Legends community is calling for streamer Robert “Hashinshin” Brotz to be canceled after the highly ranked LoL player and popular streamer was accused of grooming a minor. Pro player Maya “Caltys” Henckel came forward today with allegations against Hashinshin, telling her followers that he had groomed her when she was 15-years-old. She hesitated about coming forward with her story for fear of being known primarily for “being …
Origen adds former Vitality player Jactroll, replaces Destiny
William Davis
League of Legends
Origen is adding a new face to their roster for week 5 of the 2020 LEC Summer Split, following a shaky start to the split. The team has acquired Jakub “Jactroll” Skurzyński to replace Mitchell “Destiny” Shaw in the support position. The move comes after a lackluster performance from Origen, who currently sit at fifth place in the LEC. We are pleased to welcome @Jactroll as a 6th member of …
The five best cosplays from former LoL pro Sneaky
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi is a League of Legends veteran who has won two LCS championship titles, a Rift Rivals event, and an IEM trophy. He also had multiple top-eight finishes at Riot Games’ World Championship events. But even though Sneaky’s time at Cloud9 made him popular as a player, it was his cosplays that have made him famous beyond the esports world. Here’s a look at some of Sneaky’s most …
Griffin gives up on LCK, won’t apply for franchise in 2021 season
William Davis
League of Legends
One big name in the LCK missed the deadline to apply for a spot in the new franchised league and won’t be returning in 2021. Griffin might be done with League of Legends. After months of controversy and being demoted to Challengers Korea, it seems like the story of this team is coming to an end. Griffin becomes the only team from either Challengers Korea or the LCK to not …
Everything you need to know about LoL’s dragons and drakes
William Davis
League of Legends
League of Legends Season 10 introduced the elemental rift, a map that changes based on the dragons that spawn on the map. The third dragon spawn of the game determines the map for the remainder of the match. Halfway through Season 10, some players are still confused about the buffs granted by each dragon, the priority given to each soul, and when’s the best time to go for them. In …
Riot fires Ron Johnson for insensitive comments on George Floyd
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
After a few days of deliberation, Riot Games has fired Ron Johnson, the company’s global head of consumer products, over racially insensitive remarks regarding George Floyd. The League of Legends developers announced the news in a press release, shared by esports insider Rod “Slasher” Breslau on Twitter. In the statement, Riot calls Johnson’s remarks “abhorent,” claiming the words “directly counter” the company’s values and beliefs. “As we shared last week, …
Explaining all the controversy around TSM, Doublelift, and Dardoch
William Davis
League of Legends
It’s been four days since Team SoloMid president Aleena “Leena” Xu leaked confidential information on Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng’s Twitch stream. The incident reignited the accusations of conflict of interest against TSM, but like every other drama in the community, people stopped talking about it and moved on. But this leak was more than an isolated incident. It will have permanent effects on the career of jungler Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett, and …
Istanbul Wildcats vs. 1907 Fenerbahçe: TCL Winter betting analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
The Istanbul Wildcats and 1907 Fenerbahçe Esports will face off in the TCL 2020 Winter Season finals on May 11. While the regular season was all about 1907 Fenerbahçe, the story in the playoffs has been very different. The Istanbul Wildcats, who qualified for the playoffs as the fourth seed, have had a perfect run so far with two clean 3-0 victories. In the semifinals, 1907 Fenerbahçe struggled against Team …
Valorant breaks viewership records on Twitch with beta key drops
gabhernandez
League of Legends
Valorant is off to a very, very strong start. April 7 saw the launch of the tactical shooter’s closed beta and fans looking for a beta key flooded Twitch streams in hopes of getting one. This saw Valorant shatter Twitch’s single-day viewership record within hours. The first-person shooter is anticipated by fans of a number of major esports titles including League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Overwatch. Valorant set …
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
K/DA ALL OUT skin line revealed, includes new champion Seraphine
By
William Davis
League of Legends
Lack of NA amateur development blamed for poor Worlds performance
By
Nicholas James
League of Legends
What is ability haste in League of Legends and how does it work?
By
William Davis
