League of Legends
League of Legends
Worlds 2020 Pick’Em semifinals predictions
William Davis
The 2020 World Championship is coming to an end. Only four teams remain in the race for the Summoner’s Cup. It’s time for Worlds Pick’Em one more time, as viewers get to pick their favorites to win in semifinals. This year, players get to pick the teams advancing to finals and then get to choose the World Champion. Each stage of pick’em grants different points. Predicting the winner of the …
League of Legends
G2 Esports beats Gen.G, keeps European hopes alive at Worlds 2020
William Davis
G2 Esports is the only western team in the 2020 League of Legends World Championship semifinals after taking down Gen.G. G2 had to fight against Gen.G for the last spot in the Worlds semifinals. Gen.G topped its group after solid performances, while G2 had to go through a tiebreaker for first place in their group. G2 fell short against Suning but still ended up getting a playoffs draw with good …
League of Legends
Gamsu retires from Overwatch, plans return to League of Legends
Nina Forneloza
Yeong-Jin “Gamsu” Noh, who most recently played for the Dallas Fuel in the Overwatch League, is returning to League of Legends. Before his days in the OWL, Gamsu was a top laner for Fnatic in LoL. He last played competitive LoL in 2016 with Fnatic and found some success with the team, most notably finishing second place in IEM Katowice behind SK Telecom T1. Prior to OWL’s first season, Gamsu …
News
Tyler1 officially signs with T1 as a content creator, streamer
Olivia Richman
Streamer Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp was just signed to T1 as a content creator. In a video announcing the signing, Tyler1 had to choose between a blue and red door. The red door offered an “uncertain” and “chaotic” journey. But the option also offered Tyler1 “eternal greatness.” “Come on T! Make the right choice! Don’t make the easy choice! Get over here! Let’s move it!” Tyler1’s conscience exclaimed from atop the …
League of Legends
Riot nerfs Seraphine on PBE almost immediately after release
William Davis
It didn’t take Seraphine more than a couple of days on the Public Beta Environment (PBE) before Riot realized that she was too strong and needed to be nerfed. The nerfs are mainly targeting Seraphine’s damage, but are also toning down her general utility. Three of her abilities have received a nerf to their AP ratios, indicating that her numbers were a bit too high initially. Q – High Note …
League of Legends
Suning breaks losing streak versus JD Gaming in Worlds 2020
William Davis
Suning pulled off a major upset over JD Gaming in the 2020 World Championship, securing a spot in semifinals. Suning has defeated JD Gaming for the first time since 2018. The LPL third seed finally broke its losing streak versus JDG when it mattered the most. Suning is advancing and will face the winner between Fnatic and TOP Esports. If there’s one team no one believed could make it past …
League of Legends
Riot is about to buff Annie and Brand in new patch 10.22
William Davis
The first sneak peeks of LoL patch 10.22 were recently presented by lead gameplay designer Mark “Scuffy” Yetter, and will include adjustments to five champions including Annie and Brand. According to Scuffy, the adjustments will hopefully help some champions to climb back into the League of Legends meta. Annie and Brand especially are in focus, getting some adjustments that will open them up to be viable in more roles around …
League of Legends
Fnatic vs. Top Esports: Worlds 2020 betting analysis
William Davis
Fnatic will take on tournament favorite Top Esports in the quarterfinals at the 2020 League of Legends World Championship. Fnatic did a great job in the group stage by taking games from LGD Gaming, Gen.G, and Team SoloMid. The European squad almost took the top seed in the group but fell short to Gen.G on the final day. A second seed is still acceptable for Fnatic, especially considering the very …
Riot addresses problematic Umbral Glaive bug at Worlds 2020
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Riot Games developers have finally confirmed a fix for a potentially game-breaking bug fans discovered while watching the group stage at Worlds 2020. Developer Mark “Scruffy” Yetter posted the update on Twitter, stating that the League of Legends team had shipped out a “micropatch” that fixed the Umbral Glaive bug. “This is going into the Worlds build for the rest of the tournament,” Scruffy said. We just shipped out a …
MAD Lions reportedly looking to grab Turkish top laner Armut
William Davis
League of Legends
Papara SuperMassive top laner İrfan “Armut” Tükek may be joining MAD Lions for the 2021 season, according to Turkish Invade Esports. The rumors about the Turkish star top laner were further reported by Esporin, which is one of the biggest Turkish esports news sites. According to sources, the negotiations are now in their final stages. If the rumors are true, the Turkish star top laner will replace Andrei “Orome” Popa …
DAMWON coach Zefa on facing G2: “I want my revenge.”
William Davis
League of Legends
DAMWON Gaming’s head coach Lee “Zefa” Jae-min wants to get his revenge over G2 Esports. In the post-match press conference, coach Zefa made it clear that while it might be easier to face Gen.G, he wants to face G2 for a chance at redemption. “Either opponent can be an interesting story. With Gen.G, one of the final slots will be guaranteed to LCK. For G2, we would get revenge from …
DAMWON Gaming destroys DRX in Worlds 2020 quarterfinals
William Davis
League of Legends
DAMWON Gaming is advancing to the semifinals in the 2020 World Championship after taking down fellow LCK squad DRX. DAMWON did it again. The LCK summer champion took down DRX on a series that ended with a clean 3-0 score. DAMWON is moving forward in the competition, while DRX is heading back home. There were no surprises in this match, not even how easy it was for DAMWON to destabilize …
DAMWON Gaming vs. DRX: 2020 World Championship betting analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
DAMWON Gaming and DragonX are kicking off quarterfinals in the 2020 World Championship in the rematch of the LCK summer finals. It’s been 38 days since the last time DAMWON and DRX played against each other, but it feels like a lifetime ago. DAMWON destroyed DRX in the LCK summer final and made it look like it was easy. One month and eight days later, DRX will look to strike …
Gen.G Ruler wants to make his games at Worlds “more intense”
Jared Wynne
League of Legends
The 2020 World Champoinship is about to enter its playoff stage, and as fans eagerly await the results, Gen.G’s star player is basking in the moment. Bot laner Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk has already seen great success in his pro League of Legends career. Ruler is a former world champion, having won a title at the 2017 World Championship with Samsung Galaxy. But after a disappointing performance at Worlds 2018 and …
Will Perkz and G2 Esports reach the Worlds final again in 2020?
William Davis
League of Legends
G2 Esports is looking to play in back-to-back Worlds finals, but is it even realistic considering the team’s performance thus far? G2 has been a bit shaky throughout the group stage at Worlds 2020 and didn’t manage to advance to the playoffs as the first seed. Alongside Suning, Team Liquid, and Machi Esports, group A was considered the “group of life,” and there was no doubt that G2 had to …
Deficio will be the new director of Misfits Gaming Europe
William Davis
League of Legends
Misfits Gaming Group (MGG) recently announced that Martin “Deficio” Lynge will be its new director of Misfits Gaming Europe. The former League of Legends color casters and general manager for Origen will be responsible for strategic growth and development of the LoL department at Misfits. He will also be responsible for identifying future opportunities for the EU team, according to the organization. Welcome to Misfits, @Deficiolol!2021 is going to be …
Suning vs. JD Gaming: 2020 World Championship betting analysis
William Davis
League of Legends
Suning and JD Gaming are meeting in the quarterfinals at the 2020 World Championship. The dream of two Chinese teams in the finals is dead. All three squads that made it out of groups were seeded into the same side of the bracket, and one of them is going home early. Suning and JDG will play in quarterfinals, and only one can make it through. The LPL follows a single …
League of Legends Wild Rift coming to iOS, revealed by Apple
William Davis
League of Legends
League of Legends Wild Rift will be coming to iOS, as Apple revealed during a recent iPhone 12 event. It came as a surprise to many fans when Wild Rift was featured on the official Apple event stream during the announcement of the new iPhone 12. During the short sequence, it was announced that Wild Rift will be available on iOS, while the iPhone 12 will run the game with …
Is new LoL champion Seraphine just a better version of Sona?
William Davis
League of Legends
Seraphine and Sona might be a bit too similar, both thematically and in their ability kits, according to many League of Legends fans. The reveal of new League of Legends champion Seraphine got fans complaining on social media about how much she reminded them of Sona. Now that she is out for testing on the Public Beta Environment (PBE), are they really so similar, and will Seraphine take Sona’s place …
Should TSM keep Treatz instead of Biofrost after Worlds 2020?
William Davis
League of Legends
Team SoloMid support Erik “Treatz” Wessén recently announced that he is exploring new opportunities for the 2021 season. Although I’m still under contract until November 16, I’ve been given permission by TSM to explore my opportunities for 2021.You can reach out to me via email [email protected] or via DMsLooking for positions in LEC/LCS.Retweets appreciated ???? — Erik Wessén (@TreatzLoL) October 13, 2020 Treatz had a great year at TSM, where …
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.
