League of Legends
League of Legends
Here’s how to check your LoL match history
Khizar Mundia
In a competitive game like League of Legends, players may want to analyze their progress by checking in on their match history. We’ll explain how to do so quickly and easily. League of Legends is over a decade old, but the MOBA’s popularity has no signs of wavering. Loyal players flock to the game and join together in teams of five to take down enemy sides. With the number of …
League of Legends
Here’s how to gift skins and RP in League of Legends
Hannan Mundia
Skins and other cosmetics play a huge role in League of Legends, and those feeling generous will want to learn how to gift LoL skins to friends. League of Legends, the MOBA developed by Riot Games, is easily the most popular game in the genre. Originally released in 2009, the game has continued to thrive with its free-to-play formula. The many in-game purchasable cosmetics give the studio behind the game …
League of Legends
Explaining the latest Season 1 first blood changes in LoL
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends 2025 Season 1 introduced the new Feet of First Blood mechanic to LoL players, and now it’s already getting changed again to the even newer Feat of Warfare. League of Legends saw many changes with the introduction of 2025 Season 1. From changes to how players earned free skins to introducing the new monster Atakhan, even veteran players have had to adjust to the new mechanics. Arguably, …
League of Legends
Fans are shocked by Forsen’s rank in League of Legends
Hannan Mundia
Twitch streamer Sebastian “Forsen” Fors has finally hit a coveted new rank in League of Legends, though it took him way more games than most fans and followers would have expected. Forsen is one of the biggest streamers on Twitch, and a large reason for that is his variety of content. From streaming Minecraft to playing Valorant and more, the streamer has dabbled in multiple games. While he isn’t a …
League of Legends
Here’s how to get blue essence in LoL after Season 1 changes
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends 2025 Season 1 has changed how players can acquire blue essence, resulting in outrage from many fans and players. So how can you best gather this valuable resource now? League of Legends kicked off 2025 with the Noxus-themed Season 1 Act 1. Alongside revamping turrets and adding a new epic monster for players to slay, the season changed the overall League of Legends resource formula. Unfortunately, fans …
League of Legends
What happened to Hextech Chests in League of Legends?
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends Season 1 has changed how players can obtain Hextech Chests, confusing fans who wonder if the game is even still free-to-play. New skins and new champions have always played a huge role in League of Legends. Whether players buy skins using real-life money or acquire them from chests or orbs, many adore personalizing their favorite champions with new and interesting skins. One of the most reliable ways …
League of Legends
Every type of pass mission in League of Legends Season 1
M Alzamora
With a new season comes a new League of Legends pass, and there are numerous missions for players to complete along the way. The newly named Season 1 of League of Legends promises several new developments for players. From introducing new champion Mel Medarda to bringing fresh overarching narratives for the year and a recommitment to exclusivity, there could be something for everyone. For those who really want to get …
League of Legends
LoL Noxus cinematic has Mel Medarda, potential Season 1 theme
M Alzamora
Now that the LoL Noxus cinematic has aired as of January 7, fans may have a better idea of what to expect from Season 1 and new champion Mel Medarda. League of Legends developers at Riot Games have been promising a lot in the lead up to the beginning of the revamped seasonal model. With new Black Rose skins for such champions as Katarina and Ezreal, and the importance of …
T1 updates fans after players shut down with DDOS attacks
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
Top League of Legends organization T1 is still one of the game’s most popular and iconic brands, but continued DDOS attacks prove the organization isn’t universally beloved. Denial of service attacks are an effective means of trolling people through the internet. People use bots to slow down servers, disrupting normal use of the internet. This is unfortunately common in gaming and streaming. Games like Diablo 4 have been taken down …
doinb returns to pro League after two years, here’s what to know
M Alzamora
League of Legends
After what many assumed was the start of his retirement, Korean League of Legends player Kim “doinb” Tae-sang will be competing in pro League again. Starting in competitive League at 18, doinb has taken home a number of awards during his seven-year tenure as a pro player. In 2019, he and FunPlus Phoenix won the 2019 World Championship. He became the first player in the LPL circuit to win the …
How to change your in-game name in LoL
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
LoL users with seasonal handles or just looking to shake things up have never had an easier time changing their names. Debuting onto the gaming scene in 2009, League of Legends is one of the most popular online games to date. That also means that some players who have been logging in since the start may be looking for fresh display names. Alternatively, those coming to the game from Arcane …
LoL player Baus allegedly got death threats, here’s why
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
Simon “Thebausffs” Hofverberg, known among fans as “Baus”, claims he’s getting death threats because of Marc “Caedrel” Robert Lamont’s stream. Thebausffs is a Swedish professional League of Legends esports player who is currently the top laner for the Los Ratones. The LoL player is especially popular for his unique playing style and full attack damage Sion play. Baus understands the game’s mechanics while also playing entertainingly for fans. The top …
Impress League of Legends players with these Christmas gifts
William Davis
League of Legends
If there’s one thing League of Legends players are sure to love this Christmas, it’s a gift inspired by their favorite online video game. After more than a decade of continued development, League of Legends continues to be one of the world’s most popular games. Thanks to its massive roster of over 150 characters and constantly evolving gameplay, Riot Games’ MOBA continues to entertain for thousands of matches. Almost everyone …
Vanguard 2 arrives on Mac without extra installations
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
League of Legends
Riot Games took the Mac gaming community by surprise. The announcement revealed that League of Legends anti-cheat system, Vanguard, is being rebirthed on Mac. This could be huge, as the arrival of Vanguard 2 promises to improve and fix a lot of issues. Riot Games’ popular MOBA, League of Legends, has had little issues on macOS. The proprietary kernel-level anti-cheat, Vanguard, was originally developed for Riot Games’ FPS Valorant. The …
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. …
Worlds 2023 schedule, format, and qualified teams
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2023 League of Legends World Championship is the biggest and final event of the year in professional play. 22 teams from all over the world will compete for the trophy every League of Legends player dreams about, the Summoner’s Cup. No matter the team or the region, they all share the common goal of winning Worlds. For all the qualified teams, it is the culmination of a year’s worth …
The LoL Arena tier list for every champion
Nicholas James
League of Legends
The new League of Legends game mode is here, so we’ve put together a LoL Arena tier list that covers every single champion in the game. The New League of Legends game mode is a 2v2v2v2 deathmatch mode. You’ll play with a teammate and fight other duos in varying rounds of combat. If you want to learn more about the mode itself, check out our complete guide to the new …
How to compete in the TFT Championship Pick’Ems
Nicholas James
League of Legends
Riot Games emphasizes esports in all of its video game titles, and its auto-battler is no different with TFT Pick’Ems arriving soon. Pick’Ems are Riot Games’ favorite way to encourage fans to interact with its major esports tournaments. This is no different for the Monsters Attack championship, the grand final for Teamfight Tactics’ latest set. Here’s how TFT Pick’Ems works and how to participate in it. Pick’Ems are a fan …
Who is the Veiled Lady in The Mageseeker?
William Davis
League of Legends
The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story offers a new look into the League of Legends lore. Not only do players get the opportunity to explore Runeterra, but they will also learn more about certain champions. Who is the Veiled Lady in The Mageseeker? The answer will surprise you. When you start playing The Mageseeker, players are introduced to the Veiled Lady and its faithful followers. You can find shrines …
These are all the Mageseeker bosses
Nicholas James
League of Legends
If you’re trying to figure out how far you are into the latest Riot Forge game, here is our full list of all the Mageseeker bosses. There are 13 proper boss fights throughout the course of The Mageseeker, each of them offering a slightly different spin on the game’s signature 2D action gameplay. From the very first boss fight against the Polar Lizard to the final confrontation against a high-ranking …
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.
