League of Legends
League of Legends
Afreeca Freecs Ben officially retires from pro League of Legends
William Davis
Afreeca Freecs’ support Nam “Ben” Dong-hyun has chosen to retire from professional League of Legends to focus on his family. In a recent statement, Ben officially announced his retirement because he wants to spend more time with his daughter and wife. Ben will be going back to China together with his wife, after playing for LCK’s Afreeca Freecs since December 2019. Before joining Afreeca, Ben has played in the LPL …
League of Legends
How to build Senna as an ADC in the new preseason patch
William Davis
After the big preseason patch hit the live servers, Senna is seeing some changes in her ADC build. The new item overhaul has brought a lot of new build paths that players still have to figure out. But what is the best way to build one of the most popular bot laners from Season 10, Senna? So far in this preseason, the focus for Senna ADC has been to stack …
League of Legends
100 Thieves reportedly signing Huhi for 2021 LCS roster
Olivia Richman
LCS fans are surprised by 100 Thieves’ new roster for 2021. 100 Thieves is reportedly signing Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun as its starting support, making him the fourth former Golden Guardians player to be signed to the new roster. Chan-ho “Ssumday” Kim, Victor “FBI” Huang, and Can “Closer” Çelik played for Golden Guardians last season and will now compete for 100 Thieves. “Huhi will replace Poome, who played the last part …
League of Legends
Riot will make changes to new item icons after community backlash
William Davis
Riot will be making changes to many of the new item icons with the goal of providing more clarity, differentiation, and rendering polish. League of Legends fans have been presented with a lot of big changes this offseason but some have been easier to consume than others. Many fans have reported that the new item icons are too identical and hard to differentiate from each other. Riot has quickly acted …
League of Legends
Treatz reportedly leaving TSM, heading to LEC with SK Gaming
William Davis
Team SoloMid support Erik “Treatz” Wessén is reportedly returning to Europe after an extended stay in North America. He will be welcomed home with a contract from SK Gaming. Treatz made a name for himself on TSM Academy, winning the 2019 NA Academy Spring Split ahead of his LCS debut in 2020. The Swedish support got promoted to the TSM LCS roster in the 2020 LCS Summer Split to split …
League of Legends
Liquid’s Impact, FlyQuest’s IgNar set to join Evil Geniuses
William Davis
Evil Geniuses is in the process of acquiring former Team Liquid top laner Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong, FlyQuest support Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun and Team SoloMid Academy bot laner Lawrence “Lost” Hui. Evil Geniuses is getting ready for the next stage of its evil plan with the acquisition of three new players. Impact is joining after three successful years with Team Liquid which saw him win four consecutive LCS titles and reach …
League of Legends
Why marksmen are struggling in 2021 preseason patch 10.23
William Davis
It’s currently rough being a marksman in the 2021 LoL preseason. The preseason has taken Summoner’s Rift by storm, but not everything is quite balanced yet. The role that is struggling the most is that of the marksmen, who are currently sitting at some very poor win rates in solo queue. On patch 10.23, only four marksmen are in the top 50 of the highest win rate champions, and only …
League of Legends
Cloud9 ships Licorice, Palafox, and Diamond to FlyQuest
William Davis
According to Jacob Wolf, FlyQuest has acquired three players from Cloud9, being top laner Eric “Licorice” Ritchie, mid laner Cristian “Palafox” Palafox, and support David “Diamond” Bérubé. After a number of notable exits from the team, FlyQuest is set to plug some of the gaps with Licorice, Palafox, and Diamond. Licorice is a well-known player in the LCS and one of the best top laners in the region. Palafox and …
CLG looking to rebuild around Team Liquid’s Broxah in 2021 LCS
William Davis
League of Legends
Counter Logic Gaming is reportedly starting the offseason by signing former Team Liquid jungler Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen ahead of the 2021 LCS season. Broxah will be joining CLG in 2021 according to Jacob Wolf, after a decent year with Team Liquid. Broxah joined the team ahead of the 2020 season but had his debut pushed back repeatedly due to visa issues, forcing Liquid to compete without the Danish jungler for …
Nuguri, BeryL released by DAMWON Gaming and become free agents
William Davis
League of Legends
Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon and Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee are now free agents, DAMWON Gaming confirmed through Twitter. The 2020 champions are open for contract offers. The top laner and support, who recently raised the Summoner’s Cup in Shanghai, may or may not return to the team where they enjoyed a career season. According to DAMWON, both players have chosen to explore the free agency but are still in talks with the …
TSM signing deal to add Evil Geniuses’ Huni for 2021 LCS season
William Davis
League of Legends
Team SoloMid is close to finalizing a deal with Evil Geniuses top laner Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon, according to Jacob Wolf. The free agency window has officially opened and one of the first bombs to be dropped is involves two of the biggest brands in the LCS. The North American org is looking to cleanse its palate after flopping in the 2020 World Championship with a splashy signing. As reported on …
Riot will be nerfing tanks in the next 2021 preseason hotfix
William Davis
League of Legends
Tanks have been dominating the 2021 LoL preseason so far, and Riot is looking to change that. Ever since patch 10.23 hit live servers, tanks have been the way to victory on Summoner’s Rift. This has mainly been because of the new tank items being way too overtuned compared to their counterparts. According to gameplay design director Mark “Scuffy” Yetter, the second patch 10.23 hotfix will be targeting these strong …
T1 shuts down Twitter and Discord amid ongoing controversy
William Davis
League of Legends
After weeks of controversy and backlash, T1 has decided to close its Twitter account and Discord server. T1 League of Legends is shutting downs its main channels of communication without explanations. T1 is receiving criticism from all sides, and instead of dealing with the issue, the organization decided to go silent. It is a PR disaster for the organization that recently was announced as part of the franchised LCK. Trouble …
Cloud9 releases Nisqy ahead of rumored roster changes
William Davis
League of Legends
Cloud9 has confirmed the departure of mid laner Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer. Hours before the start of the free agency, Cloud9 has officially released Nisqy from its roster. Nisqy joined Cloud9 ahead of the 2019 season and was part of the roster that saw Cloud9 win its first domestic title since 2014. In 2019, Cloud9 attended the World Championship. The squad was supposed to repeat this feat in 2020 after a …
The history of Viktor in professional League of Legends
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Viktor has recently received a light rework in patch 10.23. His Machine Herald has had his Hex Core removed to make the transition to the new item system smoother. To compensate for the loss, Riot has given him better starting ratios and a new passive to upgrade his abilities. Viktor has always been a very specific pick in professional League of Legends. His previous Hex Core passive made him strong …
100 Thieves reportedly getting FBI, Closer from Golden Guardians
William Davis
League of Legends
A big deal between 100 Thieves and Golden Guardians is reportedly underway. During the offseason, 100 Thieves has verbally agreed to pick up Ian “FBI” Huang and Can “Closer” Çelik from Golden Guardians, according to Travis Gafford. Sources: Golden Guardians and 100t have verbally agreed to transfer the contracts of Closer and FBI when the trade window opens tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Y7FLCiRjK3 — Travis Gafford (@TravisGafford) November 15, 2020 Both players are …
New items see Amumu, other tanks dominate 2021 LoL preseason
William Davis
League of Legends
Tanks are making a huge comeback in the 2021 preseason so far, topping the charts for the highest win rates across solo queue. The big item overhaul has brought a lot of love to the tank champions in League of Legends, maybe a bit too much. Tanks are currently sitting at the highest win rates in the game, and it’s mainly because of the new items. Seven tank champions are …
Team Liquid to sign Santorin as new LCS jungler for 2021
William Davis
League of Legends
Former FlyQuest jungler Lucas “Santorin” Larsen has reached a verbal agreement to join Team Liquid, Travis Gafford has reported on Twitter. Santorin looks to have found a new home. After a successful year with FlyQuest, the jungler is looking ready for the next chapter and the destination will apparently be Team Liquid. The organization verbally agreed to a one-year contract with Santorin to be signed on November 16 when free …
Ashe can cast W twice in a row through 2021 preseason patch bug
William Davis
League of Legends
Another notable bug in the 2021 preseason patch 10.23 has been discovered, this time it’s on Ashe. The Frost Archer is able to cast her Volley (W) two times in a row through a new level-up trick that doesn’t seem to be intended. The bug was discovered by the YouTuber Vandiril, who is known to bring game-breaking bugs to light. The trick is to cast Volley once, then quickly level …
Fnatic reportedly set to add Cloud9’s Nisqy for 2021 LEC season
William Davis
League of Legends
Fnatic has reportedly made verbal commitments to sign Cloud9 mid laner Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer, according to Esportmaniacos. The player free agency window is only a few days away from opening and it could start out with Fnatic signing a new mid laner. This follows previous rumors that current Fnatic mid laner Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek wouldn’t be staying in that role with the team in 2021. ???????? Fnatic ha llegado a …
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.
