League of Legends
League of Legends
Aurelion Sol rework release date delayed until 2023
Nicholas James
The Aurelion Sol rework release date has been delayed until 2023, according to a Riot Games employee working on the project. Aurelion Sol is the next champion to receive a major gameplay update in League of Legends. His unusual playstyle has led to a low play rate, so Riot Games is giving him brand-new abilities without touching his iconic character and appearance. The update was originally slated for a late …
League of Legends
Riot Games reveals the inspiration behind K’Sante’s design
Nicholas James
K’Sante, the Pride of Nazumah is the flashy new tank set to be the latest champion to join League of Legends, and Riot Games has revealed how it came up with K’Sante’s unique design. This latest League of Legends champion brings a brand new region to the game alongside spectacular new weapons and abilities the likes of which Summoner’s Rift has never seen. Thanks to Riot Games’ behind-the-scenes glimpses in …
League of Legends
New Lil Nas X Empyrean K’Sante prestige skin revealed
Nicholas James
Musical artist Lil Nas X has released a new entry in an ongoing collaboration with Riot Games around League of Legends, promoting the brand new Empyrean K’Sante prestige skin that was designed with his help. Lil Nas X has been collaborating with Riot Games for the 2022 world championship, authoring the Worlds anthem “Star Walkin'” and several promotional videos. The latest of these is an early tease of the freshly …
League of Legends
The best Pick’Ems for Worlds 2022 quaterfinals
William Davis
The League of Legends Worlds 2022 Group Stage has ended and the top eight teams in the world have been decided. So, it’s time once again for Worlds Pick ’em, as we move to the playoffs. After eight days of solid competition in New York City, eight teams are advancing to the quarterfinals. Groups had it all, surprising comebacks, upsets, outstanding performances, and more than one Baron steal. Now, teams …
League of Legends
100 champions contested at LoL Worlds 2022, a new record
Tokoni Uti
The number of unique champions contested at League of Legends Worlds has reached 100 for the first time in the game’s history in 2022. DWG KIA top laner Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon opted for a Jayce pick in his side’s group stage match against North America’s Evil Geniuses and this became the 100th champion to be either picked or banned so far in the tournament across both the Play-In stage and …
League of Legends
League of Legends fan stages proposal with real hextech chest
Olivia Richman
For one lucky couple, a League of Legends proposal will mean a lot more than an invitation to queue up. For many people, League of Legends is more than a game. It’s a big part of many people’s lives, a place where they met friends or play with their partner every day. One League of Legends player decided to propose to their “duo queue partner” in a special way that …
League of Legends
Orianna disabled at Worlds 2022 following bug
Nicholas James
Orianna was disabled at Worlds 2022 following a visual bug that incorrectly displays the location of her ball. League of Legends is no stranger to bugs and glitches, and there’s perhaps nobody better at finding those discrepancies than the content creator and bug-finder supreme, Vandiril. The bug in question occurred in the Group Stage game between Rogue from the LEC and VCS representative GIGABYTE Marines. Riot Games was quick to …
League of Legends
Faker becomes first LoL pro to play 100 Worlds games
Nicholas James
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok has made League of Legends esports history yet again by being the first professional player to compete in 100 Worlds games over his career. Faker has been competing at the World Championships since 2013, the year he debuted on the professional stage and claimed his first Summoner’s Cup. Since then, the decorated mid laner has taken part in Worlds during 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, and this …
LoL Preseason 2023’s jungle changes are now live on PBE server
William Davis
League of Legends
Riot Games released the LoL Preseason 2023 on PBE and players are getting a glimpse at all the changes coming with Season 13. Riot is getting ahead of schedule and releasing the LoL Preseason 2023 content earlier than in previous years. According to the dev’s notes, the goal is to get as much feedback from the community as possible. Riot is looking to avoid situations like the 2022 Chemtech Drake …
How to remake in League of Legends in a minute 30 seconds
William Davis
League of Legends
Starting on Patch 12.20, League of Legends players will be able to remake games at the one-minute and 30 seconds mark. AFK players are probably one of the most frustrating aspects of solo queue. It means that from the start, the match is doomed, and players are forced to stay in it for at least 20 minutes. To address this situation, Riot Games is implementing changes that allow players to …
Here’s why LoL Worlds should cancel Play-Ins
William Davis
League of Legends
In a recent episode of Hotline League, League of Legends Championship Series analyst Mark “MarkZ” Zimmerman pitched the idea of removing Worlds Play-Ins which sparked a debate about the least popular part of the event. The League of Legends community finally agrees on something, it might be time to cancel Worlds Play-Ins in favor of a new format. Play-Ins are an opportunity for wildcard regions to earn a spot at …
LoL Worlds 2022 event pass brings a new experience
William Davis
League of Legends
The Worlds 2022 event pass will debut in patch 12.19, introducing the new and improved Event experience for League of Legends. Ahead of season 12, Riot Games announced its plans to change the Mythic Content experience, making it more rewarding for players that invested time and effort into the event grind. The final stage of the Mythic Content Overhaul is going live with patch 12.19, to celebrate the start of …
Riot Games changes Champions Queue following complaints
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Riot Games has officially announced upcoming changes to its elite-level matchmaking service, Champions Queue, ahead of the World Championships. These changes come on the heels of complaints from community members and professional players about aspects of the Champions Queue experience headed into the World Championship. Riot Whoopley, Riot Games’ Academy Director, announced expanded access and new requirements in a now-deleted Reddit post. In a Reddit post now deleted by the …
Spain’s Iberian Cup announced with a huge format twist
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
The annual League of Legends Iberian Cup has been announced for 2022 with significant changes to the format. The Iberian Cup is a ProAm tournament meant to give amateur teams a chance to face Spain’s best squads in a for-fun competition. The cup will feature all 20 teams from the 1st and 2nd SuperLiga divisions as well as an additional twelve from amateur circuits and an open qualifier. The tournament …
League of Legends Worlds 2022 Play-ins see viewership drop
William Davis
League of Legends
Worlds 2022 Play-ins viewership has decreased in comparison to 2021, according to a report by Esports Charts. Twelve teams traveled to Mexico to participate in Worlds Play-ins, and after six days of competition, only four advanced to Worlds 2022 Main Event. For the first time, Play-ins had five teams from major regions, making this stage of the tournament more competitive than ever before. But not even the presence of current Mid-Season …
Here’s how to get drops from LoL Worlds 2022
William Davis
League of Legends
League of Legends and luxury brand Tiffany & Co. have partnered up to Worlds 2022 drops, and here’s how to get them. The teams on stage aren’t the only ones winning prizes at Worlds 2022. This year, the reward system is bigger and better, allowing fans at home to get exclusive items just by watching the event. Tiffany & Co. is the most recent Riot Games partner and the company …
The best Pick’Ems for League of Legends Worlds 2022 group stage
William Davis
League of Legends
After six days of intense competition, the Worlds 2022 Play-In stage wrapped up and the groups for the main event are decided. This year, the stakes were higher than ever for the teams going through the Worlds 2022 Play-In stage. Due to the absence of the LCL in the tournament, the LEC received an extra slot in the competition. It meant that five teams from major regions were fighting for …
Fnatic.Wunder calls out Riot for FPS issues at Worlds boot camp
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
As FPS issues plague Fnatic’s Worlds training, top laner Martin “Wunder” Nordahl Hansen has taken to social media to vent his frustrations. According to Wunder, Fnatic has been dealing with low FPS issues since arriving at Worlds. He claims to be experiencing severe FPS issues at a Worlds boot camp in Mexico. The Worlds 2022 Play-In stage is being held in Mexico City’s Arena Esports Stadium, which usually hosts the …
Was Riot Games behind Carlos’ resignation from G2 Esports?
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
The Carlos Ocelote-Andrew Tate debacle seemed to have concluded with his resignation at G2 CEO, but a report hints at Riot’s involvement in the big decision. The controversial public figure and former boxer Andrew Tate is clearly not welcomed on the internet. After being de-platformed from Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok, Andrew Tate’s presence was reduced to rare clips posted on unofficial accounts. In light of these events, Carlos’ celebratory video …
G2 Esports suspends CEO Ocelote after video with Andrew Tate
Fariha Bhatti
League of Legends
G2 Esports has suspended CEO Carlos “Ocelote” Rodríguez Santiago following his celebratory tweet that showed him partying with former kickboxer and controversial figure Andrew Tate. Andrew Tate has been at the center of many controversies in past months. Tate became a prominent figure after he was thrown off reality show Big Brother due to a video of him beating a woman and slapping her with a belt. He found new …
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.
