League of Legends
League of Legends
LoL fans outraged at Riot over $400 Faker Hall of Legends bundle
Fariha Bhatti
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 …
League of Legends
Ssumday shocks fans with sudden retirement from League of Legends
Olivia Richman
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 …
League of Legends
Is League of Legends esports getting a third international tournament?
Olivia Richman
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 …
League of Legends
New Mastery System in League of Legends 2024
William Davis
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
“Smolder” Ignites Excitement in League of Legends
William Davis
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 …
League of Legends
Arcane Season 2 trailer released
Nicholas James
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, …
League of Legends
Ambessa Medarda will join LoL as a champion
Nicholas James
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 …
League of Legends
Meet Smolder, LoL’s new champion
Nicholas James
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 …
LEC format and schedule changes explained
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Some major format changes to the LEC are incoming and Riot Games has addressed the reason behind these updates. On December 6, it was announced that the LEC was going to merge the group and playoff stages into a single bracket. The schedule will also be changed for the upcoming season to make it easier to view and better support teams. Said Riot: “o better support the well-being of our …
Doublelift retires for third and final time
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Peng “Doublelift” Yilang has retired from League of Legends professional play after more than a decade playing professionally. Doublelift has reigned, for almost as long as the LCS has existed, as one of the premier native North American talents. Beginning in support as a feared Blitzcrank one-trick, Doublelift would quickly transition to the Marksman or AD Carry role. Playing on Counter Logic Gaming, TSM, Team Liquid, and 100 Thieves, Doublelift …
Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses dropping from LCS 2024
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
The LCS 2024 season will only have eight teams. Riot Games’ president of esports, John Needham, has just announced that the LCS will be an eight-team league in 2024. This is the outcome of a “mutual decision” with Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses to “exit from the LCS.” Here’s what that means going forward. With the Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses dropped from the league, Needham said that the LCS …
T1 is the 2023 Worlds Champion
William Davis
League of Legends
T1 is the 2023 League of Legends Worlds Champion after defeating Weibo Gaming. T1 just made history. The LCK organization became the first team to win a World Championship hosted in their own region. Along the way, T1 defeated all four LPL representatives, solidifying its place as the LPL slayer. Most notably, T1 put an end to JD Gaming’s golden road and its aspirations of winning every tournament of the …
T1 advises fans to stay safe at Worlds 2023 Grand Final after threats of assault
Fariha Bhatti
League of Legends
T1 fans are being advised to stay safe at the League of Legends World Championship in Seoul after threats of stabbing and violence have become rampant on Korean esports forums. T1 has reached the Worlds finals as favorites, but their predicament is only beginning. The Korean giants looked comfortable beating JD Gaming in the semi-finals in a 3-1 fashion, securing a seat in the grand finals for the fifth time …
Best semifinals Pick’Ems for Worlds 2023
William Davis
League of Legends
Only four teams remain in Worlds 2023 and these are the best choices for the semifinals Pick’em. Worlds 2023 is an emotional rollercoaster. From major upsets to absolute bangers, the most important tournament of the year doesn’t disappoint. Three LPL teams and one LCK representative remain in the race for the Summoners Cup. On one side of the bracket, two wildcards will meet. On the other side, arguably the two …
T1 destroys LNG Esports and moves to semifinals at Worlds 2023
William Davis
League of Legends
T1 obliterated LNG Esports and is advancing to the semifinals at Worlds 2023. T1 is defending the honor of the LCK and is taking the LPL teams one by one. In the quarterfinals, T1 had one of the best performances in the entire tournament. Reminding everyone why it’s the most popular team in the world. Worlds 2023 is not going according to the predictions. Dplus KIA and G2 Esports failed …
JDG stays undefeated at Worlds 2023
William Davis
League of Legends
JD Gaming has advanced to the semifinals after defeating KT Rolster at Worlds 2023. JDG continues to walk the golden path and is one step closer to making history. JDG is the third LPL team to qualify for the semifinals and is looking even more like a favorite to take the Worlds 2023 title. KT wouldn’t go down without a fight. The LCK’s third seed took game one and had …
Gen.G suffers major upset at Worlds 2023
William Davis
League of Legends
Gen.G has been eliminated from Worlds 2023 after being upset by Bilibili Gaming. In a surprising turn of events, one of the tournament’s favorites is out of the competition in the quarterfinals. Once again, it is BLG who puts an end to Gen.G’s dreams and knocks the LCK’s number-one seed from the run. These teams met for the first time in a Knockout Stage back in May during MSI 2023. …
NRG eliminated from Worlds 2023
William Davis
League of Legends
NRG has been eliminated from Worlds 2023 after losing against Weibo Gaming in the quarter-finals. North America’s last hope could not make it past the first round of the Knockout Stage. After a surprising victory over G2 Esports, NRG secured a spot in the quarterfinals, where it was set to face Weibo Gaming. These teams met earlier in round one of the Swiss Stage, where Weibo came out on top. …
When is the Worlds 2023 Finals?
Nicholas James
League of Legends
We’re out of Swiss stage and into Knockouts, so we’ve got all the info about the upcoming matches and the Worlds 2023 finals. Worlds is the biggest event of the year in League of Legends esports, every single year. 2023 is no different, and fans the world over have their eyes on the Knockout stage. This eight-team, single-elimination bracket will determine who wins the World Championship, and here’s the schedule. …
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.
