League of Legends
League of Legends
What is Valorant? Everything you need to know about Riot’s shooter
Steven Rondina
Valve and Riot Games have had a rivalry for almost a decade now, but while that rivalry has largely played out between their respective MOBA titles, things are starting to heat up even more. That’s because Riot Games is set to release its own tactical shooter, Valorant. Valorant is Riot’s answer to the longtime king of the genre, Counter-Strike, and it’s a game that already has huge momentum behind it. …
League of Legends
Dr. Disrespect disses Valorant, calls new FPS “hard to watch”
Olivia Richman
Per usual, Dr. Disrespect has something to say. On a recent stream, Twitch personality Herschel “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm IV gave his early opinion on Riot’s new FPS, Valorant. To no one’s surprise, he had some harsh words. Apparently, he wasn’t too fond of the new game from what he’s seen. “Even as a brand new game, it only took me a couple rounds to go, ‘Okay, this is it. And …
League of Legends
LCK set to enter new franchise team model in 2021
William Davis
The LCK is officially franchising in 2021. Riot Games Korea has announced its plan to adopt a franchise model in 2021. The LCK is the fourth and final major region to transition into a long-term partnership with competing teams and organizations. Organizations interested in taking part in the new league will have to submit a business plan, a team operation plan, and a fundraising plan. Teams must detail things like …
League of Legends
Here’s how Riot keeps the LCS running with everyone at home
Olivia Richman
The LCS and LEC were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they quickly came back in an online format. It’s easy to forget that Riot is now broadcasting some of the biggest esports tournaments in the world from home, now that employees are working remotely. Not to mention the broadcasters, players, and production crew. Riot first started planning a remote production workflow around March 12. Riot had changed their …
League of Legends
Zeyzal after win: “Hopefully we’re getting an EG vs. Cloud9 series”
Olivia Richman
To nobody’s surprise, Evil Geniuses won its first Spring Split playoffs match against FlyQuest, 3-1. This was a “hype win” for Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam thanks to the back and forth nature of the match. But in the end, EG defeated FlyQuest once again. This brings the team one step closer to a potential showdown with Cloud9 in the finals. How do you feel after your win today? Zeyzal: It feels pretty good. …
League of Legends
Dignitas offering to let Huni leave after missing LCS Spring playoffs
Olivia Richman
Dignitas has announced that Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon is allowed to explore other opportunities ahead of the 2020 LCS Summer Split. Earlier today, the North American League of Legends team took to Twitter to tell their followers that Huni is open to explore his options in the LCS. This news comes after Dignitas failed to make the 2020 LCS Spring Split playoffs. The team finished 7th with a 8-10 record. “Dignitas has …
League of Legends
Team SoloMid’s Myth helps debut Valorant agent Breach ahead of beta
Olivia Richman
Valorant has already become the top game on Twitch. Content creators and streamers were officially allowed to start sharing gameplay of Riot’s highly anticipated FPS title. Big names like Timothy “TimTheTatMan” Betar, Saqib “Lirik” Zahid, Jaryd “Summit1G” Lazar, Team SoloMid’s Ali “Myth” Kabbani and Sebastian “Forsen” Fors showcased the game to their fans. Twitch also held a Twitch Rivals Valorant showcase. Gamers have flocked to these channels to learn more about …
League of Legends
Legends of Runeterra release date for PC, mobile announced
Olivia Richman
Riot Games’ Legends of Runeterra will be released on PC and mobile on April 30. Legends of Runeterra is a strategy card game set in the world of League of Legends. At launch, Legends of Runeterra will feature seven regions, 35 champions, and more than 400 cards. It will launch with a new set of 120 cards, including a new region. According to the official press release, the champions will …
MAD Lions takes down G2 Esports in the 2020 LEC Spring Split playoffs
William Davis
League of Legends
MAD Lions pulled off the biggest upset of the season by defeating G2 Esports in the first round of the 2020 LEC Spring Split playoffs. The post-season is off to an explosive start in the LEC. MAD achieved the impossible, with the rookie team taking down the defending LEC champions in a series that went to game five. After ending the regular season in first place, G2 was the favorite to …
New Valorant agent Jett revealed by Riot Games ahead of beta launch
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Five days before the highly anticipated closed beta begins, Riot has officially revealed another Valorant agent. A “duelist” agent, Jett is is an agile and evasive fighter focused on speed and stealth. She “takes risks nobody else can,” running circles before every skirmish and striking before enemies even know what hit them. Jett’s four abilities reflect a focus on close-range combat. Her first ability is Cloudburst, allowing her to throw …
2020 LCS playoff preview: Teams, schedule, tournament bracket
William Davis
League of Legends
It’s time for playoffs in the 2020 LCS Spring Split. This year, the teams are competing in a new format that gives the top four seeds more than one chance to make it to the finals. The regular season ended with three teams fighting for sixth place and a three-way tie for second. With all of the tiebreakers out of the way, the stage is nowset for the playoffs. This …
Faker is here to tell you whether to use the F or D key for Flash
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
The Unkillable Demon King has spoken. T1’s Sang-hyeok “Faker” Lee has finally weighed in on one of the biggest League of Legends debates of all time. In a recent stream, the Korean LoL star told his followers his opinion on if Flash should be bound to the “F” key or the “D” key. “Don’t fight over Flash on D or F, guys. Everyone has their own preference,” Faker said. “Just because …
TFT adds new galaxies mechanic with new patch 10.7
William Davis
League of Legends
The galaxies mechanic is now available! Patch 10.7 marks the release of the highly anticipated galaxies mechanic. Now players will get a chance to play in one of the new galaxies: The Neekoverse: Everyone gets two free copies of Neeko’s Help. Lilac Nebula: The first carousel contains only four cost units. Medium Legends: Little Legends are larger and you have +25 starting health. At the beginning of each round, the …
2020 LEC playoffs preview: Teams, schedule, tournament bracket
William Davis
League of Legends
Everything is set for the 2020 LEC Spring Split playoffs. The regular season has come to an end with G2 Esports claiming first place in convincing fashion. Teams are now shifting their focus to the playoffs. The LEC Spring Split playoffs will run from April 3 to April 19, where a champion will be crowned. The split’s final standings are as follows: 1) G2 Esports (15-3) 2) Fnatic (13-5) 2) Origen (13-5) 4) …
Patch 10.7 buffs Akali and Galio, adds new Fiddlestick rework
William Davis
League of Legends
It’s time for patch 10.7! The most recent update for League of Legends is ready to go. This update brings changes to popular mid laners, the ranked system, and the new April Fools skins. Furyhorn Cosplay Veigar, Pengu Cosplay Tristana, and Pajama Guardian Cosplay Urgot are available now. Like every new skin, each April Fools skin goes for 1350 RP. These are not the only skins coming with patch 10.7, …
Here’s how to get a spot in the Valorant closed beta
gabhernandez
League of Legends
Riot Games’ highly anticipated tactical shooter Valorant will begin a closed beta period on April 7. Fans of both Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends are desperately scrambling to get a spot in the beta, but it isn’t as simple as entering into a lottery or creating an account. In order to be selected for the closed beta, prospective players must sign up for, or sign in to, a …
Valorant closed beta release date revealed, affected by COVID-19
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Riot Games announced today that a closed testing period for Valorant will start April 7. The closed beta for the new character-based FPS title will be available in Canada, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and the United States. There’s a possibility the closed beta will become available to more regions in the future, depending on the current coronavirus pandemic. “Our plan was to bring the Valorant closed beta to as many players …
Team Liquid shatters Quarathon COVID-19 charity stream goal
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
After a weeklong charity stream, Team Liquid raised $72,615 towards coronavirus relief efforts. Throughout the past week, Team Liquid streamers and players participated in a streamathon with the goal of raising $50,000 for Direct Relief. Called the Quarathon, the organization hoped the “quarantine stream marathon” would inspire their fans to help support people going through a “rough time” due to COVID-19’s impact. They went over their goal by over $20,000. …
Here’s how to find the best jungle paths in League of Legends
William Davis
League of Legends
It’s universally acknowledged that the team that wins the jungle, wins the game. To help the new generation of junglers jumping into Summoner’s Rift, Jung.GG developed a tool that shows the optimal jungle pathing for every champion. Season 10 changed the XP granted by jungle camps and players that aren’t accounting for this become irrelevant in the game very quickly. Optimal pathing is fundamental, like knowing when to smite and …
LPL team Rogue Warriors fined more than $400,000 over match fixing
William Davis
League of Legends
LPL organization Rogue Warriors is being punished with a $400,000 fine for covering up a match-fixing incident. The LPL Discipline Committee is not going easy on Rogue Warriors, the committee issued a warning with a three million RMB fine, equivalent to $423,687.50 USD. The punishment comes after an investigation into the allegations against former jungler Wang “WeiYan” Xiang for match fixing. According to several reports, WeiYan had agreed to an …
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.
