League of Legends
League of Legends
Rogue vs. G2 Esports: 2022 LEC Spring betting analysis
William Davis
One of the big games to keep an eye on during the fourth week of the 2022 LEC Spring Split will be Rogue as it goes up against G2 Esports. When the undefeated Rogue clashes with the former kings of Europe from G2, it will be a match with a lot of individual skill on Summoner’s Rift and the chance to see a lot of great action. Usually, this would …
League of Legends
The lore for new LoL champ Renata has been revealed
Nicholas James
People hungry for the lore behind upcoming League of Legends champion Renata can now be satisfied. The backstory for Riot Games’ new dark support has been revealed. Aspiring Renata players now have all the info they need to know if the character is worth maining, while players looking to pinch blue essence now have a bit more info to work with. Renata Glasc is a Chem-Baroness and corporate magnate in …
League of Legends
TSM vs. Evil Geniuses: 2022 LCS Spring betting analysis
William Davis
The 2022 LCS Spring Split will kick off with a match between two powerhouses in TSM and Evil Geniuses. After an intense Lock In tournament, the LCS will officially kick off its spring split this weekend with many great matches to catch. One of those will be the opener in which TSM will take on EG, who made it all the way to the recent Lock In final before taking …
League of Legends
League of Legends is getting a new TV show, and it’s a comedy
Nicholas James
A League of Legends esports-themed sitcom titled “Players” has been announced for release this year on Paramount+. The show will follow a fictional esports team, Fugitive Esports, as they pursue the trophy in a major league. The show will be written by a team including those with esports experience, and even stars some past players. The show was announced on February 1, and has supposedly been in development for several …
League of Legends
Renata abilities revealed, forces enemies to attack teammates
Nicholas James
The abilities for new League of Legends champion Renata have been revealed, and they’re absolutely wild. Renata is a dark enchantress, meant to bring a more sinister tone to the support role. Renata’s kit includes several effects that some fans thought they’d never see, including forcing enemies to attack their teammates. Renata Glasc the chembaroness was officially announced on February 1. In her reveal trailer, Renata’s abilities seem to match …
League of Legends
Team Vitality vs. Misfits Gaming: 2022 LEC betting analysis
William Davis
The fourth week of the 2022 LEC Spring Split kicks off with a battle between Misfits Gaming and new European super team Vitality. In an important fight to stay within the top six in the league, Vitality will take on a Misfits team that has been impressive so far in the first three weeks of the split. Misfits is currently sitting at a 4-3 record, which is better than the …
League of Legends
New champion Renata revealed with leaked splash arts
Nicholas James
Riot Games can’t seem to stop having upcoming additions to League of Legends leaked, with new champion Renata’s splash arts landing on social media ahead of her announcement. Renata Glasc was confirmed to be the upcoming dark support through an ARG-style website attached to Riot Games’ various pages. Renata was data mined from the Chinese version of Teamfight Tactics in January and more info has made its way to be …
League of Legends
The Prestige skin change means less rewards for fans
Nicholas James
After already changing event rewards twice, the upcoming Prestige skin change looks to mean even less rewards for fans. Riot announced an upcoming change to the Prestige and Mythic skin tiers last year, with Gemstones becoming Mythic Essence and a yearly rotating Mythic Store. However, the specifics have been announced and it looks like fans are getting even fewer rewards than they would now. Riot’s stated goals in overhauling Prestige …
Why is Riot changing fighters and juggernauts?
Nicholas James
League of Legends
With a large swath of itemization changes, Riot is changing fighters and juggernauts in League of Legends. Riot Games has been known to update and tweak champion classes in the past, with updates for tanks, mages, assassins, and more. With big changes coming to live servers, why is Riot changing fighters and Juggernauts? In a developer blog post, Riot Games talked about all the changes coming to the top lane’s …
Is Riot Games filing DMCA claims for using the word Arcane?
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Riot Games seems to have filed a DMCA claim against an independent artist due solely due to their use of the word Arcane. A shirt design by artist Kutty Sark was taken down from online clothing store Teepublic following an intellectual property claim by Riot Games. There’s just one problem: The featured art has nothing to do with League of Legends or its animated adaptation. So why would Riot be …
Who is IWillDominate, the controversial League streamer?
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
League of Legends streamer Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera is well known on Twitch thanks to his former career as a pro League of Legends player for Team Liquid. Ever since then, IWillDominate has been known for his impressive in-game skills and his outspoken nature when chatting with his fans. But who is IWillDominate, really? While IWillDominate has become a top League of Legends content creator over the years, some viewers and …
Zeri is already getting nerfed in patch 12.3
Nicholas James
League of Legends
League of Legends’ newest champion, Zeri, the Spark of Zaun, is already getting nerfed in the next patch. Zeri debuted to abysmal win rates, but quickly began to move upwards as players began to pin down her unusual build. After branching out into Runaan’s Hurricane, Zeri began to show off some pretty shocking damage. The preview of the next patch for League of Legends’ live server was posted to Twitter …
Evil Geniuses vs. Cloud9: 2022 LCS Lock In betting analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2022 LCS Lock In has reached the semifinals where two giants in Evil Geniuses and Cloud9 will face off. This semifinal will determine who goes to the grand final, where the winner of Dignitas and Team Liquid will also be playing. It will be the first best-of-five for both teams this season, so there’s a lot on the line and there are many things to prove for both squads …
Vel’Koz is getting a VFX update ahead of possible Void event
Nicholas James
League of Legends
There will be a Vel’Koz VFX update in League of Legends before the upcoming in-game Void world event. The Vel’Koz visual effects update will arrive in time for 12.3’s PBE patch, where it will make the rounds ahead of a live server release. This is one of many champions to receive a visual refresher in recent months, joining Syndra, Malzahar, and Zilean. There is speculation abound that Riot Games is …
Secret ARG website confirms new support champion Renata Glasc
Nicholas James
League of Legends
A secret ARG website has revealed the identity of the next champion to join League of Legends, Renata Glasc. After a data mine of the Chinese version of Teamfight Tactics found fresh art and a name attached to a new unit, Riot Games has taken the first official step in reveal the dark new support coming to League of Legends. A mysterious site was found by some League of Legends …
Why isn’t Sjokz hosting the LEC in week 3?
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere has announced that she won’t be hosting the LEC in week 3 of the spring split. Sjokz is likely the single most recognizable and well-known host in English-speaking League of Legends, having made her name as a top-tier host over the years. She announced on Twitter that she would not be hosting the LEC in the third week of play. Sjokz’s absence from the desk next week …
Here’s everything in the new Lunar Revel LoL event
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Ring in the lunar new year with the Lunar Revel event in League of Legends. From the return of a fan-favorite game mode to brand new quests, tokens, and loot orbs, there are lots of details to get caught up on. Here’s an overview of all the aspects of the new Lunar Revel event in League of Legends. All-Random Ultra Rapid Fire, the randomized version of League’s super-fast game mode, …
Janna using Smite in the top lane is breaking League of Legends
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The latest exploit to trick League of Legends’ comeback systems into giving teams gold involves taking the summoner spell Smite into the top lane. Objective bounties add additional gold rewards to objectives for losing teams and were introduced in the offseason. As it turns out, smite top lane on champions who choose to only harass and never farm can give troves of gold to teams that aren’t actually losing. The …
Misfits Gaming vs. MAD Lions: 2022 LEC Spring betting analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
An important match will unfold during week 3 of the 2022 LEC Spring Split, as MAD Lions and Misfits Gaming will fight for a spot in the top three. The two teams will enter this week completely even in the standings, with a 3-2 record on each side. Going up against each other, this is a match that can decide a lot as the winner will get a big step …
Advienne speaks on being replaced by Mikyx at Excel
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Henk “Advienne” Reijenga has spoken out on his sudden replacement as the LEC support for Excel former by Mid-Season Invitational champion Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle. Advienne was suddenly replaced by Mikyx after the accomplished support player’s contract went without a buyer during the offseason. Advienne posted a Twitlonger explaining his full feelings on his sudden removal from Excel’s main roster. The sudden substitution caught many LEC fans off-guard. Europe’s depth of …
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.
