League of Legends
Esports Betting
HLE vs T1: Best Betting Odds and Picks for LCK 2026 Playoffs
Hannan Mundia
HLE and T1 will duke it out in the 2026 LCK Playoffs lower bracket final, but which team has a better chance of facing Gen.G in the grand final? This year’s LCK season has been filled with ups and downs. In particular, the top three teams have constantly struggled against each other, but Gen.G managed to get ahead of the fray in the end. Now, HLE and T1 will face …
Esports Betting
Bet Tips and Predictions For Team Vitality vs MKOI LEC Summer Playoffs
Ben Boland
The LEC playoffs are well underway, and we have Team Vitality taking on MKOI in a do-or-die series. Lose here, and your chances of qualifying for Worlds 2026 go up in smoke. With Vitality getting dismantled by G2 Esports in their opening series, it begs the question whether it was just the G2 playoffs magic, or Vitality are not the team we thought they were. Let’s take a look at …
Esports Betting
LCS Playoffs Round 1 Best Bets: Will C9 Falter?
Ben Boland
The LCS Summer regular season has finally come to a close and six teams will now do battle over the next few weeks with the hope of representing their region at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship. The first round of playoffs is expected to set the tone for what is to be an exciting conclusion to the return of the LCS. Cloud9 and Shopify do battle once again, …
Esports Betting
The Best LCS Summer Split Week 7 Odds: Upsets On The Horizon?
Ben Boland
The LoL betting world is in for a treat this weekend as the LCS Summer Split regular season enters its final week. Everything is to play for, from the battle for first place to who starts life in the upper bracket. Esports betting sites are unsurprisingly covering the games extensively, and here my tips to bet on for each LCS match this weekend. This is a series that could go …
League of Legends
These Are Five Top Lane Champions To Pick Up in League of Legends Patch 26.17
Ben Boland
League of Legends patch 26.17 is just around the corner, and with that patch comes more changes to the role. The days of ADCs in the lane are starting to be a thing of the past, with more bruisers hitting the gym before the launch of 26.17. Many top laners are receiving buffs on the new patch, while powerhouses such as Nasus and Vayne are on the chopping block, making …
League of Legends
Here Is What To Expect From the League of Legends Patch 26.17
Ben Boland
It’s less than a week until the release of League of Legends Patch 26.17, and with this patch comes some significant nerfs to popular champions, item adjustments, and targeting roaming supports as mage bottom lanes dominate the meta. While there is plenty to unpack in this week’s patch from Riot Games, two champions, Vayne and Xerath, have received the biggest nerfs across the board. Here are some of the biggest …
League of Legends
Trade on LGD vs Bilibili Gaming at Polymarket — Use Promo Code WINGGPREMAR
Ben Boland
Bilibili Gaming comes into their best-of-three series against LGD Gaming as the overwhelming favorites, with Polymarket traders giving the MSI finalists an 83% implied probability of winning at the time of writing this article. The prediction market doesn’t give LGD much of a chance at all, and with traders backing BLG heavily, it paints a picture of who is most likely to win this series in the LPL Split 3, …
League of Legends
Which Teams Should Be Panicking Ahead of LoL Worlds 2026?
Ben Boland
The 2026 League of Legends World Championship is fast approaching, with the tournament beginning on 15 October. 19 of the best teams that esports has to offer will do battle in North America for a shot at the Summoner’s Cup. For teams like Bilibili Gaming and Hanwha Life Esports, their fates are already sealed without stepping foot on the Rift again, but for the rest of the teams, they will …
Predictions For Gen.G vs Dplus KIA: Best Value Odds at GGBET
Ben Boland
League of Legends
Two of the more in-form teams in the LCK go head-to-head as Dplus KIA takes on Gen.G on 22 August. Despite the odds leaning more towards a Gen.G win, there are some solid bets to make across the board, not just simply the result. Dplus KIA have shown impressive form throughout the summer and so shouldn’t be discounted in this series. In this preview, we will highlight the best chances to …
The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027
Ben Boland
News
The 2026 Esports Nations Cup has been suspended until 2027. The Esports Foundation announced the delay on August 18, citing ongoing regional uncertainty. The inaugural competition was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, comprising over 100 national teams and featuring 16 different games, including League of Legends. According to the Esports Foundation, this decision follows ongoing developments in the region and consultation with key stakeholders. Moving the event …
These Are Our Betting Tips for the League Championship Series Week 4
Ben Boland
Esports Betting
The 2026 LCS Summer Split is in full swing, with the eight North American squads all vying for a chance to represent the region at this year’s World Championship. With Worlds being on home soil, there is more than just a ticket to Worlds at stake. Each series in the regular season carries weight, as the standings will determine their seeding and potentially their fate in the playoffs. Week four …
Caps To Be Announced As Third Inductee in the LoL Hall of Legends
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
After Faker and Uzi were inducted into the Hall of Legends in 2024 and 2025 respectively, the European League of Legends player Caps will be the next to get the same treatment. League of Legends has been a cornerstone in the professional gaming scene for over a decade. In that time, a handful of players have managed to leave their mark for all future fans and fellow players to learn …
MLBB is the most-watched game from the EWC, and it’s hard to see another game beating it
Michael Hassall
Esports Betting
The Esports World Cup 2026 has officially passed its midway point and viewership figures for the tournament have surpassed many expectations so far, as per Esports Charts. The viewership tracking site revealed new statistics for the event on Aug. 6, showcasing just how many games had set new records in viewership, including one name leading the way in views: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. MLBB leads the viewership charts with the …
LCK 2026 Rounds 3–4 Preview, Schedule, Predictions, and More
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
2026 LCK Rounds 3-4 are slated to start soon, and this preview highlights the schedule, our expert predictions, and everything else you need to know before watching. The LCK has been upside down recently. Teams that were considered absolute powerhouses are seemingly falling off, while previous underdogs have been causing upset after upset. 2026 LCK Rounds 3-4 are starting soon, and the big question here is which team will reign …
LEC 2026 Summer split preview, schedule, predictions, and more
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
The 2026 LEC Summer split will be the deciding split to determine which teams can make it to the World Championship, and this preview aims to highlight everything you need to know about it. It isn’t a stretch to say that the LCK and LCP are the only two competitive League of Legends regions actually pulling their weight currently. The LEC did show potential at the start of the year, …
How is League of Legends Classic different from the modern version?
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
League Classic brings the classic League of Legends gameplay and design from when the game first came out, but how is it different from the modern version? The modern League of Legends mode is arguably in its best state in terms of popularity, with a study even reporting that playing LoL can improve brain function. Over a decade of gameplay and multiple marketing tactics by Riot Games have bumped up …
Best Champions for every role in League of Legends Classic mode
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
League Classic sees the return of League of Legends Season 3, but which champions were deemed the best during that time? League of Legends has gone through a lot of changes since it first came out. While the map and item-related changes naturally impacted the game’s state, so did the many champion nerfs, buffs, and reworks. Multiple champions played completely differently in Season 3 than they do now. Since League …
OBS Game Capture isn’t working on Valorant and League of Legends? Here’s why and how to fix it
Khizar Mundia
Valorant
Several reports suggest that OBS Game Capture is broken, with Valorant and League of Legends streamers only being able to broadcast a black screen. OBS has responded to the issue, confirming that it exists and also provided a way to fix it. Valorant and League of Legends are two of Riot Games’ most popular titles, and they are being streamed on streaming platforms by creators regularly. On July 21, 2026, …
Dplus sweeps Karmine Corp to win the 2026 LoL EWC grand final
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
The League of Legends Esports World Cup 2026 grand final just concluded, where Dplus absolutely swept Karmine Corp to win it all. The League of Legends Esports World Cup may only have been taking place since 2024, but it has already become a key international event for fans and professional players. With a large prize pool and consecutive matches with little delay, fans have a blast seeing their favorite teams …
Dplus vs Karmine Corp: Best betting odds, picks for Esports World Cup 2026 grand final
Hannan Mundia
Esports Betting
The League of Legends Esports World Cup 2026 grand final matchup has been determined, but which team will come out on top between Dplus and Karmine Corp? While there were multiple favorites going into the LoL EWC 2026, few assumed that Dplus and Karmine Corp would make it to the grand final. Both teams have showcased exceptional growth, but only one team can win the top prize. While Dplus is …
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.
Esports Betting
Gen.G vs HLE: Best betting odds and picks for LCK 2026 grand final
By
Hannan Mundia
Esports Betting
Here Are My Predictions For The Hanwha Life Esports vs T1 LCK Lower Final
By
Ben Boland
League of Legends
Riot Games eyes Polymarket and Kalshi for esports sponsorships
By
Michael Hassall
