League of Legends
League of Legends
Will Riot ever fix the LoL client? Latest update shows attempts
William Davis
Riot Games continue to work on fixing the countless bugs associated with the League of Legends client, and a new update indicates that a significant optimization might be coming soon. The LoL client is still a problem for many players every day, and Riot continues to push out updates intended to fix it. In its most recent update, Riot shared some new information around the company’s biggest priorities right now. …
League of Legends
Pobelter reveals he cried due to “doomed” environment at CLG
Olivia Richman
LCS veteran Eugene “Pobelter” Park recently opened up about the negative environment he experienced while competing for CounterLogic Gaming. On Twitter, Pobelter responded to CLG’s latest loss during the summer split, saying it was “painful to watch” because he knew the players on the team’s roster are “way better than that.” Pobelter blamed the team environment for their bad performance, calling it “WAY too negative” and “doomed.” “There’s super, super …
League of Legends
Evil Geniuses rookie bot laner Danny leads the LCS in kills
William Davis
Evil Geniuses newest addition Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki is currently the kill leader in the 2021 LCS Summer Split. In his rookie split, the young bot laner is showing off exactly why he was promoted directly from the EG Prodigies squad after the spring split. The 17-year-old might be one of the youngest players in the entire league but he is also currently the one to make the most kills. With …
League of Legends
Fnatic is leading the LEC in kills despite recent roster swaps
William Davis
Fnatic entered the 2021 LEC Summer Split with a lot of question marks surrounding the team’s players, but it’s currently at the top of the leaderboard and has by far the most kills out of any team in the top European league. After the first 13 games of the split, Fnatic as a team has managed a whopping 247 kills. This is 19 kills on an average per game, which …
League of Legends
Jhin and Janna create one of Ultimate Spellbook’s best combos
William Davis
Jhin with a Janna ultimate might not sound like the best combination in Ultimate Spellbook, but one player has proven its worthiness. In a recently trending clip, a Jhin player pulled off one of the most creative kills in Ultimate Spellbook so far by pushing the enemy into a stack of his own traps through the use of Janna’s Monsoon (R). The unexpected play on the enemy Fizz turned into …
League of Legends
LEC announces streamer Thebausffs as guest analyst and caster
Tokoni Uti
The LEC has announced that popular Twitch streamer Simon “Thebausffs” Hofverberg will appear on the broadcast’s analyst desk for week 6. Thebausffs will also step in as a caster for two games to be played on Friday. The LEC announced the news in a tweet that also confirmed the return of Jake “Hiprain” Matthews and Adrian “Jamada” Wharlton-Thorne as guest casters for Saturday’s stream. Thebausffs, who currently boasts more than 345,000 …
League of Legends
T1 vs. DWG KIA: 2021 LCK Summer betting analysis
William Davis
A match between the old and new kings of the LCK is about to unfold in the 2021 LCK Summer Split during week 6. The match is between the defending champion DWG KIA and a T1 side that is looking to reclaim the throne this split and potentially make a deep run at the 2021 World Championship. Before T1 can get their hopes up for any of that, it’s time …
League of Legends
T1 terminates contracts coaches Daeny and Zefa, so what’s next?
William Davis
Korean powerhouse T1 has made drastic changes to its coaching staff ahead of the week 6 of the 2021 LCK Summer Split. Effective immediately, T1 has terminated the contracts of head coach Yang “Daeny” Dae-in and coach Lee “Zefa” Jae-min. This was announced only a few hours before T1 will enter the sixth week of the LCK by facing off against KT Rolster. The two coaches will leave the roster …
TSM vs Team Liquid LCS Summer match and fantasy analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
TSM and Team Liquid are about to face off in the 2021 LCS Summer Split, continuing one of the biggest rivalries in North America. The two teams have both had decent performances this split and will now look to pair up once again to see who the better team really is. So far this season, TSM is leading with a superior 4-0 record. This puts Liquid under enormous pressure going …
G2 Esports vs. Vitality: 2021 LEC Summer betting analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
The young team of Vitality will take on the more experienced G2 Esports in week 6 of the 2021 LEC Summer Split. The two teams are currently fighting close to each other in the standings, with Vitality being right at the edge of top 6. G2 is only a little bit ahead in fifth place and is still fighting hard to remain comfortably within playoff contention. This match could be …
Ultimate Spellbook can give Nautilus his longest hook ever
William Davis
League of Legends
The new game mode Ultimate Spellbook is turning out to be one of the best featured game modes since URF. One of the reasons is all the new fun combos that are constantly being discovered and now it’s Nautilus’ turn. In a recent discovery by a player, it was found out how Nautilus can be extremely fun to play in Ultimate Spellbook if he gets the chance to pick Zoe’s …
Will Nidalee & Syndra return to pro play with LoL patch 11.15?
William Davis
League of Legends
League of Legends patch 11.15 is already underway and might be bringing a shake-up to the meta for the professional scene especially. In the most recent update shared by lead game designer Jeevun Sidhu, it was discovered that the upcoming patch will have a lot of focus on buffing or nerfing certain champions. According to Sidhu, this patch will have a lot of “pro-facing shakeups” before the biggest leagues in …
New Akshan combo lets him use stasis during his E ability
William Davis
League of Legends
It has recently been discovered that Akshan is able to use stasis through Zhonya’s Hourglass or Stopwatch during his Heroic Swing (E). Players keep discovering new combos and interactions for new champion Akshan, and the most recent one is both fun and useful. In a recent video by Vandiril, it was discovered that Akshan can go into stasis during the cast of Heroic Swing. While in stasis, Akshan will continue …
CLG picks up Damonte as new mid laner following poor LCS run
William Davis
League of Legends
CLG will be playing with Tanner “Damonte” Damonte as its starting mid laner for the upcoming seventh week of the 2021 LCS Summer Split. Following the dramatic behind-the-scenes video released by CLG yesterday, the organization has now announced the roster swap that most people expected. In a video that was later deleted by CLG, general manager Daniel “Tafokints” Lee said that there will in fact be roster changes for this …
Why has Akali fallen below 45% win rate in LoL patch 11.14?
William Davis
League of Legends
Akali has fallen below a 45% solo queue win rate in the mid lane after patch 11.14 has been released, and the nerfs that led to this drop might be needed just to control her use in professional play. Riot Games has struggled to balance Akali across solo queue and professional play for a while, and now she has been nerfed once again. After having bad win rates in solo …
New dodge penalties, 2-week bans for AFKers coming to LoL
William Davis
League of Legends
Riot Games has revealed a third tier of punishment designed to reduce wasted queue time and harshly punish AFK players in League of Legends. The original system of a six-minute ban followed by a 30-minute ban will still be instituted. A third dodge within 24 hours will unlock another, much harsher punishment. Serial queue dodgers will get hit with a 12-hour lockout and an additional 10 League Point loss. This …
These are the best and most creative League of Legends cosplays
William Davis
League of Legends
Cosplaying has been a way of sharing fans’ passion and creativity around video games, movies, anime, and more for years. And the standards in League of Legends cosplaying are higher than ever. Some of the most talented cosplayers in the world are commonly looking to League of Legends for inspiration for cosplays. With over 150 characters in the game, there are plenty of options for cosplayers to make something breathtaking. …
Drama erupts around CLG over controversial team meeting video
William Davis
League of Legends
CLG offered fans a look behind the curtain with a now-deleted video showing general manager Daniel “Tafokints” Lee says discussing impending roster swaps in the 2021 LCS Summer Split. The video was seemingly recorded shortly after CLG ended its most recent LCS week with a 1-2 record. Tafokints states directly that he is looking at making roster swaps and that this may be “the last time that we have this …
Qiyana can make sick combos with Jarvan ult in Ultimate Spellbook
William Davis
League of Legends
Ultimate Spellbook has finally landed on the League of Legends live servers and players keep finding incredibly fun and strong combos. After being tested on the Public Beta Environment (PBE) for weeks, Ultimate Spellbook has been unleashed alongside the Rise of the Sentinel event. The game mode allows every player to choose an extra ultimate that will take over a summoner spell spot. With two ultimates, there are countless new …
G2’s Rekkles is the first player to reach 2000 kills in the LEC
William Davis
League of Legends
G2 Esports bot laner Martin “Rekkles” Larsson has reached an impressive milestone by getting 2000 kills in the LEC as the first player ever. The Swedish bot laner got his 2000th kill in G2 Esports’ most recent match against Rogue. Rekkles was playing one of his signature champions Tristana, which he has been solid on for years. Despite a slow start to the ongoing 2021 LEC Summer Split, Rekkles is …
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.
