League of Legends
League of Legends
All you need to know about Treasure Hunter and healing nerfs
Nicholas James
Sustain has been reduced in League of Legends through patch 12.6, with one of the best healing runes replaced by a new rune called Treasure Hunter. Treasure Hunter has replaced Ravenous Hunter in the Domination tree, eschewing one of the most popular rune choices in the entire game. At the same time, nerfs to runes and items that heal have meant less and less healing for champions who thrive on …
League of Legends
Here’s why the Nexus has lost health in League of Legends
Nicholas James
Fans have noticed that the Nexus health and other features of base defenses have changed in patch 12.6 despite not being listed in the official patch notes. So just what are those changes, and what do they mean for League of Legends players? Patch 12.6 has brought plenty of change to League of Legends. In addition to the usual balance changes, some April Fools’ jokes and a hidden change to …
League of Legends
Team Liquid and Cloud9 take over LCS All-Pro team
William Davis
The 2022 LCS Spring Split playoff is about to start meaning this split’s All-Pro teams have been announced. To no surprise, it is the top teams from the regular split, Team Liquid and Cloud9, that got to shine on the first All-Pro team. In fact, the two teams were dominant enough in the voting that no other team was represented. In the second and third All-Pro teams, players from 100 …
League of Legends
2022 EU Masters Play-In groups drawn, who does Karmine face?
Tokoni Uti
The EU Masters, a tournament that brings together the top teams from Europe’s regional leagues, has seen the groups drawn for the 2022 Play-In stage. The Play-Ins are held with 16 teams, with four moving on to the main event. This is decided through an initial group stage, with four groups of four, after which the first seeds will face the second seeds in head-to-head qualifiers to decide the teams …
League of Legends
Here’s how patch 12.6 Mythic content overhaul works
Nicholas James
The Mythic content overhaul will arrive with patch 12.6 later this week, bringing an entirely new cosmetics system to League of Legends. The Mythic content overhaul is looking to refresh the way that League of Legends players collect the rarest skins, icons, and other cosmetics. Until now, players have been split between trying to earn Prestige Points through timed events or Gemstones from chests and loot orbs to collect Mythic …
League of Legends
Fnatic launches Fnatic Citizen NFT program to fan backlash
Nicholas James
Esports organization Fnatic has launched an NFT program called Fnatic Citizen and fan reception has been negative. Fnatic announced a new venture for the organization on Twitter. The brand is starting a membership service gated behind a Non-Fungible Token program. The program resembles a similar effort by rivals G2 Esports to integrate NFTs and blockchain technology into a fan club experience. Just as the G2 program was met community backlash, …
League of Legends
The 2022 LEC Spring final to be played with a live audience
William Davis
After a long wait, the LEC studio will finally reopen its doors for a live audience. It has finally been announced that the LEC will once again welcome a live audience at the 2022 LEC Spring Split finals on April 10. This will be a one-off event that will include “a limited number of fans back in the studio,” according to the official LEC announcement. With a limited crowd, the …
League of Legends
New Arcana skins for Xayah, Rakan, Ahri, and more coming to LoL
Nicholas James
There are new Arcana skins coming to League of Legends, bringing the fan-favorite red magical tint to a slew of new champions including Ahri, Xayah, and Rakan. New Arcana skins have been announced by Riot Games, bringing the tarot-inspired skin line to a number of champions. New skins have been announced for Ahri, Xayah, Rakan, Ryze, and Hecarim. Each one has flashy new visual effects and a striking recall where …
New items for juggernauts hit LoL: Wild Rift in patch 3.1
Nicholas James
League of Legends
League of Legends: Wild Rift continues to get new features and champions added, here’s everything you need to know about the new juggernaut items in Wild Rift. Three items designed for solo lane fighters to stand toe-to-toe with opponents are being brought to LoL Wild Rift. Hullbreaker, Death’s Dance, and Divine Sunderer will all be coming to the mobile adaptation of League of Legends. Here are the specializations of each …
How to watch the TFT Gizmos and Gadgets Championship
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The competitive Teamfight Tactics scene is heating back up, and details around the TFT Gizmos and Gadgets Championship have now been revealed by developer Riot Games. Teamfight Tactics uses regional qualification events to seed various players into each set’s international tournament. Those regional qualifiers are already underway, and Riot has stepped forward to share the exact details around the upcoming TFT Gizmos and Gadgets Championship and who will be appearing …
How to get tickets to the LCS 2022 spring split finals
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The first split of professional play in North America this year is coming to an end, meaning the LCS 2022 spring split finals are coming. Here’s how to get tickets for the LCS 2022 spring split finals if you want to see the action in person. 2022’s spring split has been a wild ride for fans of League of Legends in North America, and it’s looking to only get more …
Victory Five dominates 2022 LPL Spring awards, All-Pro Team
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2022 LPL Spring Split is entering its final stages, and with that, the All-Pro teams, regular split MVP, and rookie of the split awards have been announced. This LPL regular split has been one of the closest in the history of Chinese League of Legends, with several teams looking strong enough to go all the way for the trophy. This has made for some close fights in the standings …
Rengar buffs and Tryndamere nerfs hit in LoL patch 12.06
Nicholas James
League of Legends
A new small-scale Rengar update and Tryndamere nerfs headling the new patch coming to League of Legends, 12.06. Previous balance patches have been notoriously light in recent weeks. This led to high-level players, community figures, and casual fans alike complaining that Riot Games’ lighter approach to balance tweaks was making the game stale. Will this latest patch change their tune? Riot can’t seem to decide how it wants League of …
Uzi injuries and BLG team issues lead to ADC stepping down
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Jian “Uzi” Zihao has stepped away from pro play yet again due to previous injuries flaring back up as well as a lack of synergy with his new team. Here’s what you need to know. Uzi is considered by many fans and professional players to be the greatest AD carry player of all time, known as the “Mad Dog” in the LPL for his ceaselessly aggressive play in team fights. …
Peter Zhang discusses TSM allegations, blasts organization
Tokoni Uti
League of Legends
Former TSM head coach Zhang “Peter Zhang” Yi has discussed his release from TSM stemming from allegations of a conflict of interest. TSM suddenly announced the release of Peter Zhang, citing “conflict of interest and unethical practices” as the reason for his termination. This was followed by a report by Dexerto’s Richard Lewis that Peter Zhang was serving had also been secretly working as an agent for China and Taiwan-based …
Rogue vs Misfits: 2022 LEC Spring playoff betting analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2022 LEC Spring Playoff is finally kicking off starting with an upper-bracket best-of-five showdown between top seed Rogue and the big surprise of this split, Misfits Gaming. The two teams will fight for survival in the upper bracket and direct advancement into the semifinals. By starting in the upper half of the bracket, these teams will only be two wins away from a spot in the final and it …
The best League of Legends name checkers for name changes
Nicholas James
League of Legends
If you’re looking for a new smurf account or planning a name change in League of Legends, here are the best LoL name checkers. There can be excellent (as well as awful) League of Legends player names. If you’re considering swapping your moniker, there are a few ways to check whether a name is available and even getting that name if it’s not. From the official to the fanmade, here …
Here’s what the Mythic Content Overhaul could mean for you
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The Mythic Content Overhaul is about to arrive, and here’s what it means for League of Legends players with Prestige Points and Gemstones left unspent. The Mythic Content Overhaul will be hitting League of Legends in the next patch, and fans’ cosmetic acquisition experience will then be very different. From spending Prestige Points immediately to what to do with Gemstones, here are all the best tips on how to approach …
Shen and Karma joining LoL Wild Rift with patch 3.1
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Patch 3.1 is making its way to League of Legends: Wild Rift, bringing Shen and Karma to the mobile adaptation of LoL. Champions are frequently getting added to Wild Rift, which began with a partial selection of the massive MOBA’s playable characters at launch. Shen and Karma are the latest additions to Wild Rift, bringing two of Ionia’s most iconic champions onto mobile devices across the world. The highlight of …
How to play Viktor, The Machine Herald in League of Legends
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Viktor, The Machine Herald, is a powerful control mage but there are ways to really make an impact with the legend. Here is how to play Viktor like the best players. Viktor has many strengths that make him a premium pick in League of Legends. He has a unique piece of itemization, effortless wave clear, consistent area crowd control, and tons of magic damage to pump out in team fights. …
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.
