League of Legends
News
Riot reveals new Valorant support agent, Sage, and her abilities
Olivia Richman
Riot has revealed a new Valorant agent and her abilities. Sage, who appears to be the fourth of 12 agents, is a support-style agent that “creates safety for herself and her team wherever she goes.” She has the ability to resurrect allies and protect them from attacks. Developers also shared her abilities, some of which might sound familiar for players of other hero shooters. The first is Slow Orb. Sage …
News
Riot Games donates huge amount to coronavirus relief in LA
Olivia Richman
Riot Games and its co-founders have donated $1.5 million to aid coronavirus relief efforts. During a press conference on Tuesday, Los Angeles’ mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the game developer donated $500,000 to local foundations, while co-founders Brandon Beck and Marc Merill will donate $500,000 each. Of that impressive total, $400,000 will go to the Los Angeles Food Bank, an organization that Riot has held fundraisers for in the past. …
News
Riot Games investigating Vega Squadron for win trading in LCL
William Davis
Riot Games is launching an official investigation after Rolandas “Optimas” Vincalovičius accused Vega Squadron of win trading during the 2020 LCL Open Cup. Russian organization Vega Squadron is in hot water. The team was accused by former member Optimas of win trading. The incident took place during the 2020 LCL Open Cup, a competition that runs in parallel with the 2020 LCL Spring Split. In the Open Cup, eight teams …
League of Legends
Star Guardian Urgot is coming to LoL, and it is magnificent
William Davis
Pajama Guardian Cosplay Urgot is coming to the League of Legends. Riot Games has announced one of the most widely requested skins, Star Guardian Urgot, or at least soomething in that vein. Every time Riot released a new Star Guardian skin, the League of Legends fans asked for Urgot to be included into the skin line. The meme is now a reality. Pajama Guardian Cosplay Urgot is part of the …
News
CLG Pobelter on LCS Spring Split: “A coronavirus-fueled fever dream”
Olivia Richman
Counter Logic Gaming has been knocked out of the Spring Playoffs, but they’re not about to stop trying. Not even close. CLG is putting their all into the last week of matches, said Eugene “Pobelter” Park, in an attempt to boost their morale and performance going into the Summer Split. Pobelter joined WIN.gg for an interview over webcam to talk about his very crazy Spring Split, from joining a last …
League of Legends
GG Huhi on online LCS matches: “I perform better on the stage.”
Olivia Richman
The Golden Guardians didn’t have a good weekend. They went 0-2, falling to TSM and Team Liquid. Even though it didn’t go their way, Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun still has hope they will make playoffs. They just have to give it their all next weekend despite all the craziness and uncertainty the coronavirus has brought to the LCS schedule. WIN.gg spoke with Huhi about how GG was dealing with the Los …
League of Legends
LEC pokes fun at Overwatch League, offering fans some levity
William Davis
The 2020 LEC Spring Split is back with a bang, and we’re not just talking about the games. We’re talking about the masterful roast to the Overwatch League in the cold opening titled “Explainius explains the #LEC Playoff Format (sort of).” The LEC is back after a brief hiatus. The most recent cold opening was supposed to go live on March 13 when the LEC was suddenly suspended. Casters Christy …
League of Legends
100 Thieves and Cloud9 considering changes for LCS Summer Split?
Olivia Richman
Earlier this week, 100 Thieves appears to have posted a classified ad looking for two professional League of Legends players to join their team. “100 Thieves LLC seeks a Professional League of Legends Player to train and compete in the League Championship Series from our headquarters in Los Angeles, California,” the ad begins. The responsibilities include attending eight-hour practice sessions each day during the competitive season, which are listed as …
Quickshot shows how LEC’s remote broadcasts are getting done
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
“HOW DID I GET DRAGGED INTO THIS?” LEC shoutcaster Trevor “Quickshot” Henry tweeted earlier today. That outburst came soon after a tweet where he addressed an audio stutter that took place during the Excel versus Fnatic match earlier today. In response, his followers had only words of encouragement. After all, Quickshot and other members of the LEC crew were running a remote broadcast for the online matches. As the coronavirus …
CaptainFlowers says leaving This or That is his choice
William Davis
League of Legends
LCS caster and Skarner devotee Clayton “CaptainFlowers” Raines is stepping down from This or That to focus on personal problems. CaptainFlowers announced through Twitter that he is no longer part of the LCS web show This or That. In the show, the hosts are presented with a series of questions and must pick between two answers. The show covers topics like the LCS, solo queue, and current events worldwide. CaptainFlowers …
LCK returning to action next week after coronavirus shutdown
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2020 LCK Spring Split is officially returning on March 25. After a 19-day hiatus, the LCK is resuming the season in an online format. Earlier this week, it was reported that the LCK was planning on returning by the end of March. Riot Games Korea confirmed that the league is coming back on March 25. The schedule for the season was modified to make up for the lost time. …
Here are some strong compositions for TFT: Galaxies after patch 10.6
William Davis
League of Legends
Patch 10.6 marks the arrival of TFT: Galaxies, the third set in Teamfight Tactics. A new set means new items, classes, origins, and units. Players can also purchase the TFT Pass+, the paid pass that grants special rewards to the players. Those that don’t want to buy a pass can still receive some of the rewards for free. The launch of TFT: Galaxies comes alongside the release of TFT’s mobile version …
LoL patch 10.6 nerfs Aphelios and Senna again, ranked is improved
William Davis
League of Legends
Patch 10.6 has arrived with changes in the ranked system, the jungle champion pool, the anticipated Wukong rework and so much more. Patch 10.6 is adding new skins to the store. The fantasy RPG-themed skins Talon Blackwood, Taric Luminshield, and Twitch Shadowfoot are going live on March 19. The Dark Star skin line is adding Dark Star Malphite, Dark Star Mordekaiser, Dark Star Xerath, Dark Star Malphite Prestige Edition, Dark …
Crown announces return to South Korea after poor LCS performance
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
“Goodbye!” That was the last thing Min-ho “Crown” Lee tweeted before getting on a plane and leaving North America after a poor performance with Counter Logic Gaming. “Hello, I’m Crown. I’m going back to Korea today after being removed from CLG. Thank you all for anyone who cheered for me at LCS and at home. NA life has been long and short but I’m thankful for good and various memories …
Pro LoL players from C9, Dignitas, IMT, more to play charity inhouses
M Alzamora
League of Legends
With North America’s LCS was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak, four LCS contenders are making the most of their free time by holding a charity stream for those affected by the virus and their families. The tournament, hosted on Cloud9’s Twitch channel, started last night as Alex “MadMagical” Whieldon and Erik “DoA” Lonnquist took over the casting duties for the night’s matches. Dignitas, Cloud9, Immortals, and Flyquest are …
Teamfight Tactics Mobile release date revealed, new features added
Olivia Richman
League of Legends
Riot Games has just announced that Teamfight Tactics will arrive on mobile in just two days. TFT Mobile will launch on March 19, arriving in the App Store and Google Play. This is Riot’s first-ever mobile game, and comes at a time where Riot is looking to rapidly expand its game catalog. The League of Legends publisher is working on a new tactical shooter, Valorant. It will also be launching an …
LEC, LCS announce online leagues with return dates and schedules
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
League of Legends fans in North America and Europe won’t be sitting around bored for long while they wait for the coronavirus to pass. The LCS and LEC have announced their plans to return to action in an online setting. The two leagues issued announcements detailing their plans to play out the remainder of their 2020 Spring Splits over the internet in order to keep the league going without a …
How to play Kalista in the top lane just like TheShy
William Davis
League of Legends
The LPL is known for being an extremely aggressive league with experimental compositions that walk the line between genius and absolutely troll. The most recent pick on that list is Kalista in the top lane courtesy of former World Champion Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok. Invictus Gaming is currently riding high in the 2020 LPL Spring Split. Every team on the member is performing at the highest level, especially TheShy, who continues …
LCK reportedly returning soon after coronavirus shutdown
William Davis
League of Legends
The 2020 LCK Spring Split will be returning soon as an online event. According to a report by ESPN, the LCK will play the rest of the season online and will be back in action “by the end of March.” The update comes 10 days after the league went on hiatus due to the coronavirus threat. Earlier this month, Riot Games Korea announced that the LCK would be stopping once the …
Doublelift reunites 2016 TSM roster for fans hit by coronavirus
gabhernandez
League of Legends
With the coronavirus outbreak putting the LCS and LEC Spring Splits on hiatus for the indefinite future, pro players and casters are keeping League of Legends fans entertained by hosting in-house matches. For the LEC, Christy “Ender” Frierson led the way. He and personalities like Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere hosted a makeshift event for the community. Well-known European pros like Ramsus “Caps” Winther and Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau competed in the casual …
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.
