League of Legends
League of Legends
Woman threatens lawsuit, saying Riot based Seraphine on her
Olivia Richman
A woman named Stephanie is claiming the newest League of Legends champion, Seraphine, is based on her and that she might take legal action against Riot. According to Stephanie, a Riot employee she briefly dated in 2019 decided to use her appearance and personality to create the the character who was recently prominently featured alongside virtual band K/DA. Riot has denied the allegation, saying that Seraphine was “independently created by …
League of Legends
How the jungle has changed in the 2021 preseason patch 10.23
William Davis
It wouldn’t be a League of Legends preseason without changes to the jungle. With the introduction of the 2021 preseason in patch 10.23, the jungle has seen some changes for both the monsters and items. The primary changes have been made to the jungle items, as Riot has aimed to remove the mandatory jungle items while still keeping different Smites in the game. Riot has also introduced some adjustments to …
League of Legends
T1 snatches DAMWON Gaming coaches Zefa and Daeny, LS not signed
William Davis
After weeks of speculation, T1 has announced its coaching staff for the 2021 LCK season and to everyone’s surprise, it doesn’t include Nick “LS” De Cesare. T1 introduced its new coaching staff, starting with General Manager Choi “Polt” Seonghun. The head coach for 2021 will be none other than former DAMWON Gaming head coaches and current world champions Lee “Zefa” Jae-min and Yang “Daeny” Dae-in. Zefa returns to T1 after …
League of Legends
DAMWON Gaming adds former T1 coach kkOma after Worlds victory
William Davis
2020 World Champion DAMWON Gaming has announced Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun as its head coach for the 2021 season. DAMWON is making moves ahead of the 2021 season in the newly franchised LCK, and keeping things exciting even before the start of free agency with the addition of the heavily credentialed coach. No other head coach in the world has a resume like kkOma’s, with the former T1 head coach owning …
League of Legends
The best ways to use the marksman Mythic items on LoL patch 10.23
William Davis
It’s time to take a look at some of the new Mythic items. The big preseason patch has hit the League of Legends live servers, which means that players will have to get used to all the new items and build paths that come with it. As the new Mythic items have entered the game, there are a lot of new and big items that players will have to get …
League of Legends
Fnatic reportedly adding YamatoCannon for LEC 2021 season
William Davis
After parting ways with SANDBOX Gaming, Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi seems to be heading to Fnatic as the team’s new head coach for the 2021 LEC season. According to ESPN’s Jacob Wolf, YamatoCannon will be Fnatic’s new head coach in 2021 and will replace Alfonso “Mithy” Rodríguez. who has been with the team since December 2019. Mithy’s future is reportedly undecided but it seems possible that he could end up as …
League of Legends
Can JD Gaming stay on top of China during the 2021 LPL season?
William Davis
JD Gaming had the best year in the organization’s history in 2020, but can the team stay on top of China and the LPL next year when some of its best players become free agents? After winning the 2020 LPL Spring Split, making the final in the summer, and qualifying for the 2020 World Championship, JDG had an impressive year that they can be proud of. Going into 2021, the …
League of Legends
Xerxe and Immortals sea the deal, pending Riot approvals
William Davis
Astralis’ jungler Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir is in the process of signing a contract with Immortals, several sources have reported. Soon after announcing the signing of head coach André “Guilhoto” Guilhoto, Immortals is about to secure a new jungler. According to a report, the jungler and the organization agreed on the terms of the contract and the move will be official on November 16. Xerxe is exiting Astralis, formerly known as …
Misfits looking to add Rogue’s Vander for 2021 LEC season
William Davis
League of Legends
Polish veteran support Osker “Vander” Bogdan looks to be heading to Misfits for the 2021 LEC season, according to ESPN’s Jacob Wolf. Sources: @MisfitsGG are finalizing a buyout agreement with @Rogue for @Vanderlol, which is expected to be completed next week.In 2020, Vander had a stellar year on Rogue, becoming one of the #LEC top supports. Rogue, though, promoted @trymbilol a few weeks ago. — Jacob Wolf (@JacobWolf) November 11, …
PowerOfEvil will likely replace Bjergsen on TSM for 2021 LCS season
William Davis
League of Legends
Team SoloMid might have found it’s new mid laner for the 2021 LCS season. The team is going to sign Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage according to ESPN’s Jacob Wolf. Sources: @PowerOfEvilLoL notified @TSM Tuesday that he will sign with the team as their new mid laner at the opening of the League of Legends Free Agency window on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. ET.PowerOfEvil chose TSM over @EvilGeniuses, who have been …
The five biggest moments of the 2020 World Championship
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2020 World Championship ended on October 31 with DAMWON Gaming raising the Summoner’s Cup in front of the Shanghai audience. With this victory, the LCK put a stop to Chinese supremacy and reclaimed the throne. The tournament was full of incredible plays and games, and it’s hard to pick the best of the best, but here are the biggest moments from Worlds 2020. TOP Esports and Fnatic met in …
Europe’s top-ranked player in LoL Season 10 is a Janna one-trick
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2020 ranked season is officially over and on the EU West server, a Janna one-trick has officially gone down as the top-ranked player of season 10. The race for the top spot on the EUW server is always competitive and full of action when the season is coming to an end. This year, a Danish solo queue prodigy came out on top by only playing Janna. The account “HAHHAHAHAHAHXDDD” …
Biggest LoL Season 11 changes shown in Preseason 2021 Spotlight
William Davis
League of Legends
The big 2021 preseason patch is approaching and to help guide players through the many changes, Riot has released a brief preseason spotlight video. In the video, Riot presents the big item overhaul that will force players to relearn the whole item system in the game. With the introduction of the new Mythic items, champion builds will be constructed in a completely different way with a lot of new unique …
Riot adds 10 new LoL skins, including additions to Cosmic line
William Davis
League of Legends
Riot Games is back with a new set of skins to close out 2020. A total of 10 champions will receive new in-game cosmetics, judging from the latest Public Beta Environment update. This includes additions to the Cosmic skinline for Nidalee, Hecarim, Illaoi, Anivia, Nami, Vladimir, and Varus. #PBE Preview Cosmic Edition! ????Cosmic Skarner, Hecarim & Nidalee! ✨ pic.twitter.com/SwPj9nuQWc — League of Legends EU (@loleu) November 10, 2020 #PBE Preview …
TSM and G2 players won’t be part of the 2020 All-Star event
William Davis
League of Legends
The voting for 2020 All-Star is open and fans will be disappointed to discover a group of famous players is notably missing from the list. The players of Team SoloMid opted out of the event and thus are not eligible for 2020 All-Star. This year, the event is taking place completely online with the chosen players from each region playing from their local studios. The three-day event will consist of …
Cody Sun splits from 100 Thieves ahead of LCS free agency
William Davis
League of Legends
100 Thieves and ADC Cody Sun have parted ways, the organization confirmed on Twitter. Cody Sun won’t be returning to 100 Thieves in 2021 and is officially a free agent ahead of the 2021 season. This is a familiar scenario, since it’s not the first time Cody Sun has broken up with 100 Thieves. Cody Sun was part of the roster that helped 100 Thieves qualify to the 2018 World …
Riot unveils 2020 ranked season reward borders and icons
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2020 League of Legends ranked season is coming to an end and players around the world will be receiving seasonal ranked rewards. Riot has already announced the rewards of the 2020 ranked season, including the new Victorious Lucian skin, chromas, icons, and the standard ranked border for players to flex when they queue up on Summoner’s Rift. The Lucian skin will only be given out to players that have …
Jensen interview hints that Impact might leave Team Liquid
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
When Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen revealed that he was re-signing with Team Liquid, he might have accidentally leaked some unannounced team changes. Team Liquid tweeted a short video of Jensen discussing his plans with Team Liquid after signing a three-year contract. “I’m excited about this because I believe this is the best chance if I want to make it far internationally. When I heard their plans for the 2021 season, it …
The biggest League of Legends tournaments left to watch in 2020
William Davis
News
Even though the 2020 World Championship is over and most professional LoL teams have entered the offseason, there are still some exciting tournaments worth keeping an eye on. Entertaining League of Legends doesn’t have to come from the absolute best teams in the world, which is why it’s time to look at some of the remaining tournaments left in 2020. League of Legends is still being played all around the …
G2 Arctic vs. SLO REJECTS: Iberian Cup 2020 betting analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
The Iberian Cup 2020 is entering the semifinals and the first one is between G2 Arctic and big surprise SLO REJECTS. Both teams impressed during the quarterfinals and won convincingly against their respective opponents. Now it’s time for the semifinal, where the winner will advance as the first team to the final in the battle for the trophy and €8,000. G2 Arctic has only played one time at the tournament, …
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.
