League of Legends
League of Legends
How To Enjoy League of Legends With Your Friends
William Davis
League of Legends is a lot more fun if you play it with friends. But often, your friends might have a much higher rank than yours or the other way around. This guide explores the best ways to solve this problem and the benefits of playing the game together with a group. Your League of Legends MMR is a hidden number that gives Riot’s matchmaking system an idea of how …
Movies & TV
Arcane welcomes its first spin-off novel
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
With the highly anticipated release of Arcane’s second season, fans are excited not only for the continuation of the story but also for the expansion of its world. Alongside the show, Riot Games has announced Arcane welcoming its first spin-off novel, titled Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf. This novel will focus on Ambessa Medarda, and take readers deeper into her powerful and turbulent backstory. Related: Valorant Arcane 2.0 bundle – …
League of Legends
Riot finally brings K/DA Gragas meme skin to LoL
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Riot Games has officially turned a long-standing fan meme into reality. Riot is finally introducing the K/DA Gragas skin in League of Legends. After years of community jokes and requests, the fan-favorite champion Gragas is set to join the K/DA universe, a move that players have eagerly anticipated. The K/DA skin line, introduced with champions like Kai’Sa, Akali, Evelynn, and Ahri. The skin line became an instant hit when paired …
League of Legends
League of Legends Patch 14.18 early notes: World 2024
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends Patch 14.17 went on live servers recently, and now the focus shifts to Patch 14.18. The upcoming patch will serve as the foundation for Worlds 2024. As the world’s top players prepare for the most prestigious event in League, Riot Games is implementing a series of changes aimed at balancing the game for high-level competition. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming patch. Riot revives …
League of Legends
All we know about T1 Worlds 2023 skins price, release date
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends fans, rejoice! New details about the highly anticipated T1 Worlds 2023 skins have leaked, offering a glimpse into the upcoming cosmetic collection. These skins commemorate T1’s dominant performance at Worlds 2023, and with each champion selection reflecting a player’s signature champion, they’re shaping up to be a must-have for any T1 supporter. The leaked details paint a picture of a visually stunning set of skins. Taking inspiration …
League of Legends
Viktor leaked as the next LoL Champion to get a rework
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends fans are buzzing with excitement after a leak revealed Viktor will get a rework. The update will coincide with Arcane Season 2’s release later this year, refreshing one of the game’s iconic champions. According to sources, Viktor’s rework will focus on enhancing his kit to make him more viable in competitive play. One of the major changes speculated to be implemented is a complete overhaul of his …
League of Legends
LoL betting – Tips to improve your betting chances
William Davis
As of 2024, the LoL betting market has seen significant growth, reflecting its increasing popularity and the sophistication of betting options available. If you intend to try the best LoL bookies with friends or your favorite streamer, these tips will certainly help you make informed decisions. Betting on esports, especially in games like League of Legends, requires a strategic approach. Differently from traditional sports, esports matches may differ a lot …
Movies & TV
Is Arcane Season 2 the final season?
Olivia Richman
Arcane fans have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Season 2 after the shocking cliff hanger at the end of Season 1. Now, Netflix has shared a teaser for Season 2 but announced that it will be the end of the popular show. A show ending after just two seasons seems shocking. A lot of fans are wondering if Season 2 is truly the end of Arcane. Will we get …
LoL fans outraged at Riot over $400 Faker Hall of Legends bundle
Fariha Bhatti
League of Legends
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s Hall of Legends collection in League of Legends will set you back a whopping $450, and players aren’t happy about that. Riot Games earlier announced Faker as the first inductee for the LoL Hall of Legends. It’s an in-game event that celebrates the best players annually. While fans had their own guesses about who the first inductee would be, Riot went with Faker, who it thinks is …
Ssumday shocks fans with sudden retirement from League of Legends
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
League of Legends veteran Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho has officially retired from competitive play. The League of Legends community was stunned when South Korean top laner Ssumday announced on X that he was done with esports. This would be effective immediately on May 7. At just 27, Ssumday has officially retired from competitive League of Legends. He stated that he felt it was time to do his mandatory military service in …
Is League of Legends esports getting a third international tournament?
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Riot is reportedly adding a third international event to its League of Legends circuit. For the past 10 years or so, there have only been two international events during Riot’s official League of Legends pro circuit. The Mid-Summer Invitational is a test and show of power between the Spring and Summer Split, bringing all top teams from every region together after the Spring Split results. Then, the World Championship is …
New Mastery System in League of Legends 2024
William Davis
League of Legends
Introduced in Season 5, the Champion Mastery system in its original form offered players a way to demonstrate their proficiency through champion points and in-game emotes. However, particularly by one-trick players, there were complaints, calling for a change. League of Legends will update the system in 2024 with a focus on consistency, dedication, and reward with visual presentation. Let’s get right into how the new mastery systems work: First of …
League of Legends MMR changes in 2024
William Davis
League of Legends
Baseline LP gain/loss is increased to ± 28 for Emerald and below. Baseline LP gain/loss is reduced by up to 8 points for players Emerald and above. In those tiers, this is an average of ± 20 when rank and MMR match. Matchmaking now searches in a slightly tighter range of visible ranks. That reduces the high-rank differences in lobbies. Demoting requires less amount of games to prevent MMR and …
The 2024 LoL season – players and teams to look out for
William Davis
League of Legends
The upcoming League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is fast approaching, and there’s a new system in place for Worlds qualification. Here are some of the best teams and individual players to keep an eye out for. The 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is Riot Games’ first major international esports LAN competition involving the award-winning video game League of Legends (LoL). The competitive format has been modified a bit, and it will …
This is how much your lol account is worth
William Davis
League of Legends
If you’re someone who spent years actively playing League of Legends and building up your collection, you might be curious to find out how much it is worth. Alternatively, you might be actively looking to quit the game and sell the account but lack the knowledge required to accurately evaluate it based on the current market. Either way, the best method of accurately calculating the value of your account is …
“Smolder” Ignites Excitement in League of Legends
William Davis
League of Legends
Smolder is a new dragon champion in “League of Legends,” known for his late-game strength as an Attack Damage Carry (ADC). Originating from the mysterious region of Camavor, Smolder’s backstory involves being separated from his mother and raised by a human boy, which influences his unique human-like traits. In gameplay, Smolder starts weaker but scales into a powerful force. His abilities gain potency by accruing “Dragon Practice” stacks by hitting …
Arcane Season 2 trailer released
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Riot Games has released the first trailer for Arcane Season 2 and it confirms a huge lore moment that will be coming in the new animated installation. Arcane is Riot Games’ smash hit animated adaptation of the lore of League of Legends. Season 1 focused on the twin cities of Piltover & Zaun and many of their inhabitants, specifically Vi, Jinx, Ekko, and Singed from Zaun and Caitlyn, Viktor, Jayce, …
Ambessa Medarda will join LoL as a champion
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Riot Games has announced one of the new champions coming to League of Legends in 2024, Ambessa Medarda, the Noxian warlord from animated show Arcane. Riot Games has gotten in the habit of releasing regular update videos for fans. These tend to help lay out their plans for the future. The first video for the new season, which announced tons of new content coming in 2024, even name-dropped one of …
Meet Smolder, LoL’s new champion
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Riot Games has unveiled the next champion to join League of Legends, and it’s the adorably named and designed Smolder, an adolescent dragon with lots to prove. The developer of League of Legends often likes to preview upcoming champions earlier on in the year. In late 2023, Riot indicated that the next new champion after Briar’s release would be an important “royal” member of the roster, with the statement being …
What does MarkZ being commissioner mean for LCS?
Nicholas James
League of Legends
It has been announced that Mark “MarkZ” Zimmerman, previously a co-host on the LCS desk, will be the new commissioner of the LCS. But what does that mean for the league? After the previous LCS commissioner, Jackie Felling, stepped down earlier in 2023 due to ongoing health issues, the LCS has been looking for new leadership. Rumors have been flying throughout the offseason about who might be considered for the …
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.
