League of Legends
News
The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027
Ben Boland
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 …
Esports Betting
These Are Our Betting Tips for the League Championship Series Week 4
Ben Boland
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 …
League of Legends
Caps To Be Announced As Third Inductee in the LoL Hall of Legends
Hannan Mundia
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 …
Esports Betting
MLBB is the most-watched game from the EWC, and it’s hard to see another game beating it
Michael Hassall
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 …
League of Legends
Best Champions for every role in League of Legends Classic mode
Hannan Mundia
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 …
Valorant
OBS Game Capture isn’t working on Valorant and League of Legends? Here’s why and how to fix it
Khizar Mundia
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, …
League of Legends
Dplus sweeps Karmine Corp to win the 2026 LoL EWC grand final
Hannan Mundia
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 …
Esports Betting
Dplus vs Karmine Corp: Best betting odds, picks for Esports World Cup 2026 grand final
Hannan Mundia
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 EWC 2026 group stage recap: G2 crash out as T1, Gen.G and HLE advance
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
The League of Legends EWC group stage just concluded, and here’s a complete summary of everything that transpired in the two extremely eventful days. The League of Legends Esports World Cup is already making waves for all of the right reasons. While it isn’t nearly as long as the game’s esports fans are usually used to seeing, it’s still packed with awesome matches in which the best teams play each …
DPlus players haven’t been paid in a month as upcoming acquisition affects finances
Michael Hassall
League of Legends
Korean esports organization Dplus Kia has reportedly not paid players for multiple titles it competes in for a period of at least a month as it grapples with financial issues related to an upcoming acquisition. The news surfaced on July 16 that the organization was struggling to fulfill its commitments to pay players. Just a few hours later, DPlus released a statement admitting the issues, but insisting that players had …
BLG vs T1: Best betting odds and picks for EWC LoL 2026
Hannan Mundia
Esports Betting
BLG and T1 will face off in the 2026 EWC to determine the first team in Group C to qualify for the playoffs, but which team has a better chance of success? While T1 wasn’t able to beat BLG at the recent MSI tournament, the team has another shot at the 2026 EWC. This match is a best-of-one instead of the typical best-of-five that T1 frequently struggles in, so there …
G2 Esports vs AG.AL: Best betting odds and picks for EWC LoL 2026
Hannan Mundia
Esports Betting
G2 Esports may be the strongest European League of Legends team at the EWC 2026, but how does it stack up against AG.AL? G2 Esports made waves in the recent 2026 Mid-Season Invitational by taking down T1 from the tournament. The team’s next opponent is AG.AL, a team many consider the dark horse of the series. The looming question is whether the LEC royalty can take down the China qualifier …
League of Legends at the EWC 2026 preview, details, predictions, and more
Hannan Mundia
Esports Betting
The 2026 League of Legends Esports World Cup has the potential to be even grander than the last, making it all the more important to learn about its schedule and participating teams. League of Legends has no shortage of large-scale international tournaments. While First Stand and the Mid-Season Invitational have concluded, the next event that fans have to look forward to is the Esports World Cup. Gen.G may have dominated …
HLE’s MSI win may have proven that Gumayusi’s the GOAT
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
With HLE winning the 2026 MSI tournament grand final against BLG, there’s a real argument that Gumayusi may be the best ADC player currently. This year’s MSI has finally concluded, and Hanwha Life Esports took home the winning trophy. While it was filled to the brim with ups and downs for every player, Gumayusi may be the only player who consistently performed in every game, regardless of which team was …
Hanwha Life Esports vs BLG: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 grand final
Hannan Mundia
Esports Betting
Hanwha Life Esports and BLG will get to have a rematch in the 2026 MSI grand final, but which team will walk away as the victor? The first match between HLE and BLG didn’t really go well for the LCK team. The stakes are much higher this time, and the looming question is whether things will be any different this time around. Tournament: MSI 2026 Stage: Lower bracket final Game: …
NA has a winning head-to-head against EU at MSI for the first time since 2018
Wasif Ahmed
Esports Betting
LYON just beat G2 Esports 3-0 at the LoL 2026 Mid-Season Invitational. Right off the high of beating the six-time World champion T1, the LEC representative quickly came back to Earth as NA cut their run short. Now, North America is ahead of Europe in the head-to-head for the first time since 2018. After G2’s victories against Top Esports and T1, the predictions were split. Part of the community rationally …
Hanwha Life Esports barely beats LYON 3-2 at LoL MSI 2026
Wasif Ahmed
Esports Betting
In a heartbreaking moment for North America, Hanwha Life Esports beat LYON in a close 3-2 in the MSI 2026 loser’s final. For South Korea, this means a rematch for HLE against Bilibili Gaming in the grand final, and a fourth slot at Worlds 2026. For North America, it’s yet another near-win against the East as they fall short for the third time in two years. The series between HLE …
Hanwha Life Esports vs LYON: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
The 2026 MSI lower bracket final will see Hanwha Life Esports take on LYON. Here’s our complete betting analysis and betting picks. After T1’s upset loss at the ongoing MSI tournament, G2 Esports was the next team to fall before reaching the lower bracket final. LYON looked extremely good against the LEC team, but does it have what it takes to take down arguably the strongest LCK team currently? Tournament: …
G2 Esports proves that T1 has an over-reliance problem
Hannan Mundia
League of Legends
The MSI match between G2 Esports and T1 proved that the LCK powerhouse needs to take a good look at its strategy. For years now, the LCK has been a dominant force in the competitive League of Legends space. While the LCP has occasionally come close to the number one spot, that hasn’t been the case for long. In particular, T1 is easily the biggest name in the scene, especially …
Here’s the complete Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 schedule
Hannan Mundia
Esports Betting
The Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 has finally arrived, and here’s the complete schedule for the event to ensure you don’t miss anything. While it isn’t exactly the newest name in the esports scene, the EWC has quickly become a leading event for esports fans worldwide. It brings together professional players and fans from various games, combining them into one long event that everyone can enjoy. 2026’s Esports World Cup …
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.
