win.gg
Win.gg League of Legends Everything you need to know about the LoL ranking system

Everything you need to know about the LoL ranking system

Author Icon
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi Published 11/11/2019

League of Legends has been around for ten years. The game’s ranked system has changed over the many seasons of its life. Its core has remained largely the same, with players placed in different tiers based on their skill level.

League players are now ranked from Iron to Challenger based on the league points they earn and lose over the course of a season. These seasons lasts almost a year, and are divided into multiple splits that give players smaller rewards in addition to larger ranked rewards at the end of the season.

Once a new season starts, players’ ranks are decided based on the ten provisional games they play at the outset. These are called placement games.

League of Legends ranked tiers

From lowest to highest, League’s ranked tiers are Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger. With LP as the determinant of their skill, players are placed to match with others who perform at a similar level. 

Tiers below Master are divided into four divisions. To climb to a higher tier or division, players need to reach 100 LP in their respective division and then win two out of three promotional matches. If a promotional series is failed, players will be given one free win the next time they try for the same promotion.

If players are looking to be promoted to the next ranked tier, they’ll need to win three out of five games.

Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger are single tiers with a limited number of slots, reserved only for the very best players in each region. The number of slots depends on the total population of ranked players in a given region. The Challenger tier is where most professional League of Legends players can be found when they’re actively playing through ranked solo queue.

Inactivity and numerous losses after falling to 0 LP in a division can result in a demotion.

LoL’s LP system and hidden MMR

LP are earned by winning games and lost by losing games. The number of points that will be gained or lost in a particular game is based on the players’ hidden matchmaking ratings.

MMR, also known as ELO rating system, depends on a few factors, including the MMR of both teams in a game. For example, winning against a team that overall has higher MMR will reward more of LP points after a win, and losing against a higher ranked team will lose fewer points. At its core, MMR depends on how many wins a player has.

Players lose and gain LP based on the difference between their own MMR and the average MMR of the division they’re placed in at any given moment. If a player’s MMR is higher than the average in their ranked division, the system will push them higher on the ladder to better match them with other players of the same skill level.

Ranked rewards in League of Legends

Ranked rewards are distributed to the players after the season ends. Season nine will end on November 19 with the year’s preseason patch going live.

Based on the ranked tiers they placed and honor levels, players can potentially receive different icons, emotes, ward skins, and ranked armor upgrades. Those that finish the season in the Gold ranked tier or above will also receive a special victorious skin. The 2019 ranked season reward is an Aatrox skin, which will be mixed in along with the other ranked rewards.

More icons and emotes are awarded to players at the end of each of the three seasonal splits. Players earn split points based on the number of games won while playing primary and secondary roles, or winning with an autofilled role, which typically brings in the most points.

Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
About Syed Mujtaba Naqvi

View full profile
Read Also
How to link your Riot Games account to Discord for League of Legends and Valorant League of Legends
How to link your Riot Games account to Discord for League of Legends and Valorant Hannan Mundia Riot Games has released a new feature that lets players link their Riot and Discord accounts, opening the way to new social features. Discord is more or less the central hub for many PC gamers. Whether it’s because of the servers or just voice chat accessibility, what started as a chatting platform is now closer to a social networking platform. Because of this, it makes sense that many users have ...
T1 and G2 Esports are the only two teams to have attended every MSI since 2022 Esports Betting
T1 and G2 Esports are the only two teams to have attended every MSI since 2022 Wasif Ahmed T1 and G2 Esports are the only two teams to have played in every League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) since 2022. With four back-to-back participations, Bilibili Gaming trails just behind but none of them have claimed any title during that period. Looking at the full MSI history though, T1 and G2 have participated twice as often as any other team. Beyond just those last five years, these two teams ...
League of Legends MSI 2026 Pick’Ems and Crystal Ball format, guide, predictions Esports Betting
League of Legends MSI 2026 Pick’Ems and Crystal Ball format, guide, predictions Wasif Ahmed The Mid-Season Invitational Pick’Ems have opened. This game allows players to predict MSI matches in order to earn rewards in League of Legends. The ultimate prize for a perfect Pick’Ems is very rare, but there’s still a strong incentive to try to land in the top 25%, so here are our Pick’Ems predictions and a guide to the format. The predictions for this tournament are split into two categories, the ...
League of Legends 2026 MSI preview: Teams, schedule, rewards League of Legends
League of Legends 2026 MSI preview: Teams, schedule, rewards Hannan Mundia 2026’s MSI is on the horizon, with cash prizes and a guaranteed spot at this year’s World Championship on the line. Some favorites have proven their skills, as well as underdogs that have a chance to cause an upset. This preview highlights the tournament’s teams, schedule, and potential rewards for those who perform well. Eleven teams have qualified for this year’s MSI, but that doesn’t mean that every team is ...
Why is the League of Legends MSI the LPL’s tournament? Esports Betting
Why is the League of Legends MSI the LPL’s tournament? Wasif Ahmed In League of Legends, South Korea almost always wins the World Championship. However, it’s the LPL that has won more than half of the Mid-Season Invitationals since their launch in 2015. So why is MSI the LPL’s tournament? And what can we expect for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational next week? First off, let’s have a look at the history and stats for the two regions at the LoL Worlds and ...
Fnatic founder denies rumors of organization being sold League of Legends
Fnatic founder denies rumors of organization being sold Hannan Mundia Fnatic founder and CEO Sam Mathews denied that the organization is set to be sold in the coming weeks. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that Fnatic has seen much better days. The team’s League of Legends and CS2 rosters have been seeing multiple recent changes, and the VALORANT team’s performance has been mixed this year. Considering the team’s performance, it didn’t surprise many when reports that the organization was ...
Hanwha Life Esports defeats T1 to qualify for MSI League of Legends
Hanwha Life Esports defeats T1 to qualify for MSI Hannan Mundia After a surprisingly one-sided match, Hanwha Life Esports defeated the reigning champions T1 to qualify for MSI at the 2026 LCK Road to MSI. The LCK is by far considered the strongest League of Legends region. While T1 and Gen.G’s rivalry is iconic, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that recent roster changes put HLE on the same playing field as the two giants. The addition of Zeus and ...