Hustling Games: LoL Esports Overview

League of Legends has proven to be one of the best games in the Esports industry, and one can say that the game has been loved for many years. It is known as a leader in its genre and proved that the game can still be relevant over big franchises such as Dota 2.

The Esports side of League of Legends has been a major factor in keeping the game popular over the years. Game developer Riot Games has done a lot of moves to push the competitive side of the game and has made a lot of major leagues in North America, Asia and Europe. 

The competitive side includes the usual gameplay with added elements like strategies to work for them while using their champions on a fine level of play. The major tournaments are held annually during the summer, which is called the World Championship. They draw in millions of viewers, with the 2019 edition seeing over 40 million watching.

Based on streaming services, League of Legends is the most popular game in the world. Thanks to data gathered back in May 2020, there were 80 million active players on a worldwide scale. Twitch also reported that League of Legends is one of the top three most-watched games on its platform for 2020 as well.

The game is also one of the biggest video games in the world, and it remained as one of the most played and watched games since being released 11 years ago. The game can easily be learned by everyone, but it takes a lot of skill, time and knowledge to actually master the game and match the same level of play that the pros have.

So far, you can say that League of Legends has done well in keeping up with the biggest games in the world such as CSGO (and the free CSGO skins offered), Dota 2, StarCraft and so on. There’s no doubt that the game continues to attract more players over the years, and that says a lot about the way League of Legends has lured in more players with their great content and gameplay experience.

Brief History

League of Legends came out in 2009 as a newly improved version of DotA, which was just a mod in the Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne and was an early foundation for Dota 2. Riot Games delivered in their project to bring in a familiar ground with a new name and managed to make it popular in markets such as China and South Korea.

Sit back and enjoy casino games

The idea was to make a stand-alone game that would run on its own engine as a solo rather than a mod. It came out at a time where the graphics and gameplay proved to be a great part of a game’s features.

League of Legends was well-received in its release and has grown well in terms of popularity with a very active fanbase all over the world. It was the most played PC game in North America back in July 2012 in terms of hours played. 

Since then, Riot Games has also organised the likes of the League Championship Series or LCS (located in Los Angeles) and the League of Legends European Championship or LEC (located in Berlin). These have 10 teams each and have spawned regional competitions in China, South Korea and so on.

The 2019 World Championship logged in a peak concurrent view count of 44 million. That had a prize pool of $2.5 million and it was a fine lead for the years to come. League of Legends can really be one of those big games that can get a lot of fans all over the world. So far, the numbers have been really competitive against the likes of Dota 2 and so on.

League of Legends was released by Tencent Inc. in China, and the company is the largest internet value-added services in the country. The game has gone far to Tencent’s growing 300 million internet user base, and that is why the game is one of the popular ones of its kind.

Try your luck and play Hilo

The success of League of Legends proved that there is no need to be innovative in a way that one will have to start from scratch, and that is why more players are showing interest to play the game as time passes by.

Playing League of Legends

Learning how to play League of Legends is not that hard. If you play games such as Dota 2, StarCraft, Mobile Legends and so on, then League of Legends won’t be that hard to play at all. 

The game opts to put you in a five on five situation where a player has the role of a certain champion. Players get to choose from a lot of characters that have a lot of unique abilities of their own, each varying from a lot of classes. You will either battle a player or AI-controlled champions on the other team, so this won’t be that hard to play at all. 

The goal is not to take out the enemy champions as they will continue to respawn on a certain amount of time, but rather to destroy an enemy Nexus, which works as the main structure and lies at the heart of the base. 

Players must work their way in the game as they push through defences of three main towers on three different paths. That includes dealing with the enemy champions who have the same goal as well.

Over the course of the game, champions get EXP points and gain access to more abilities that each player can use to take out their enemies. Also, players can boost their stats on attack, defence and so on through the use of items that they can buy using gold. Gold is earned after every kill and destroying structures. 

Check your chances to win in Roulette

Choosing the Right Champion

League of Legends first came in with just 40 champions, and as of November 2020, there are now over 150. Most of these champions were reworked with new designs, mechanics and lore. These are unlocked through playing, in-game currency and other microtransactions.

Riot Games has classified the champions by classes and subclasses. These designate the traits that a champion has and the subclasses note the offensive or defensive abilities that the heroes can have.

Tanks are the most durable class in the game, and two variants of tanks are the vanguards (offensive) and wardens (defensive). Fighters deal moderate damage to most enemies and can be seen as juggernauts (damage dealers) or divers (fast attackers).

Slayers are melee champions who can deliver high-level damage in exchange for lower HP count. These are assassins (offensive) and skirmishers (bigger HP count). Mages, on the other hand, are champions who can deal damage with spells. The class with the largest number of champions are known between three categories, which are burst, battle, and artillery.

Burst mages deal damage to most champions and are less reliable against groups, while battle mages can deal damage on closer ranges. Artillery mages, on the other hand, are reliant on long ranges and are inefficient in crowd control.

Controllers are spell-focused champions that are acting as support heroes. Enchanters are able to buff and lock down enemies in exchange for lower damage, while disruptors focus on slowing down enemies and cast weakening spells.

Marksmen are the ranged attackers who often stay in the backline while dealing consistent damage. These champions have no subclasses and are the most efficient heroes to use against tanks.

Using these heroes have been the main priority in playing competitive matches. These tournaments require strategies and tactics across teams to win, so knowing how these champions work is a must.

Competitive side of League of Legends

League of Legends has grown well over the years, and the Esports industry has proven to be big enough for one to see that the game itself has clearly boomed since 2009. The community is big, and one can say that League of Legends continues to be loved by most players.

Over the years, a lot of great players in League of Legends have emerged. One of these great players is Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok, who is considered to be the best that the game has ever seen. He is the longest-tenured player in the game and that is the main reason why he is also the highest-ranked star.

The T1 star is only one of few players to ever win the League of Legend World Championship three times (2013, 2015 and 2016). He has also won the MSI title in 2016 and 2017.

So far, many players have followed his steps and hoped to thrive in the game just as he did. Faker has served as an inspiration to a lot of players, and he continues to be one.

League of Legends is a great game to play for determined players. So far, the Esports industry continues to love the game, and one can say that it is still a popular one to enjoy.

For more LoL updates, visit Gamdom.com

Words: Paul Daniel Flores