League of Legends: get to know the competitive scene of the eSports giant!

Launched in 2009, League of Legends is one of the main forces behind the rise of the eSports industry — which is expected to reach $5.27 billion by 2029. Known as LoL, Riot Games’ MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) continues to engage fans and prove that digital sports are a force to be reckoned with.

No wonder its viewership and popularity numbers remain impressive: the 2024 Worlds final peaked at 6,941,610 concurrent viewers — breaking last year’s record. A total of 33 million viewers tuned in for the most recent edition of the LoL World Championship, once again proving its global appeal.

And you don’t just have to watch the matches — you can also bet on the top showdowns being played, as long as it’s done responsibly. That’s why we’ve put together this complete guide to help you understand why League of Legends is such a hit in the competitive gaming scene. Ready? Press start and keep reading!

What is League of Legends?

Developed by Riot Games and released on October 27, 2009, League of Legends is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) where two teams of five players face off in PvP (Player vs. Player) battles. The objective is to defend your half of the map — where your team’s base is located — while attempting to destroy the opponent’s base.

Each player controls a character — known as a Champion — with unique characteristics based on their role. These roles define the Champion’s abilities and the ideal playstyle to bring out their full potential.

Commonly referred to as LoL, the game is free-to-play and follows the Game as a Service (GaaS) monetization model. Initially launched for Windows, it was later made available for MacOS on March 1, 2013 — further cementing its role in the rise of eSports.

How important is League of Legends in the rise of eSports?

League of Legends wasn’t the very beginning of organized competitive gaming. That actually dates back to 1972 in the United States, when the Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics pitted Stanford University students against each other using the PDP-1 computer.

Nor did LoL invent the MOBA genre. That credit goes to the 1989 Sega Genesis classic Herzog Zwei, a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game where players controlled a single unit across a large battlefield.

Then in 2002, the hugely popular Warcraft III received a fan-made mod called Defense of the Ancients (DOTA), considered the first true MOBA. This genre combined RPG and strategy elements in an online format, a perfect match for the fantasy world of Humans, Orcs, Undead, and Night Elves from Activision Blizzard.

Despite its huge popularity in the community, DOTA remained a cult classic due to its status as an unofficial mod. Still, it paved the way for the release of a similar title from the newly formed Riot Games in 2009: League of Legends.

By then, eSports were already booming in popularity. The widespread availability of broadband internet removed the physical and geographic barriers to organizing events, and the launch of the Twitch streaming platform in 2011 further accelerated both competitive play and content consumption in gaming.

In 2019, League of Legends hit a peak of 8 million concurrent players. Today, there are 167 playable Champions, and the game has surpassed $1.75 billion in revenue, according to research by SuperData. Its cultural significance also plays a role — the animated series Arcane, co-produced with Netflix, was a major critical and popular success.

Currently, League of Legends boasts over 117 million active players and more than\$110 million in prize money paid out to winners of over 2,900 LoL tournaments organized by Riot Games.

What are the Champion classes in League of Legends?

There’s no denying that League of Legends holds a powerful presence on the global eSports stage, especially among MOBA titles. One of the game’s many strengths lies in its variety of game modes, which enable different types of competition and appeal to many player profiles.

• Assassins: fast and capable of dealing high damage, but with low defense.
• Marksmen: ranged attackers that deal solid damage but are fragile.
• Fighters: balanced between attack and defense, able to go toe-to-toe with any other character.
• Supports: assist their teammates by staying close, restoring health, or activating other attributes.
• Tanks: heavily defensive, serving as the team’s damage sponge; they’re slow and don’t deal much damage.
• Mages: the class with the greatest variety of abilities, often fitting into other categories like assassin, fighter, or support.

These classes help shape both a player's strategy and the overall team composition. After all, League of Legends is an eSport built on teamwork. That’s why understanding these roles is crucial to crafting a winning strategy — or evaluating whether the pro players you’re following have strong chances of victory.

What are the game modes in League of Legends?

In general, LoL game modes feature lanes, defenses, a jungle (the area between lanes), and creatures that, once defeated, grant temporary buffs to a champion or the whole team. And speaking of champions, each has unique abilities and fits into one or more categories, as described above.

Another common feature in most MOBA games is the ability to purchase items during matches, enhancing the champion and opening up even more strategic possibilities. Let’s take a closer look at each League of Legends game mode:

Summoner’s Rift

Played by most of the LoL community and used in the game’s top-tier competitive scene, this mode — or map — is considered the most iconic of the MOBA genre.

In Summoner’s Rift, two teams of five players each face off on a symmetrical map with two sides (blue and red). The objective is to earn resources and destroy the enemy team’s Nexus — the largest structure at the core of their base.

The map has three main lanes, plus a river, and each player assumes a specific role: top, jungle, mid, bot (ADC), and support. Matches typically last between 30 minutes to an hour, and ranked games allow players to progress through ten tiers of mastery.

All Random, All Mid (ARAM)

Played on the Howling Abyss map, ARAM is another fan-favorite mode. Here, all players are assigned random champions and battle on a single lane. As in Summoner’s Rift, the goal is to destroy the opposing Nexus. ARAM matches tend to be faster, lasting around 20 to 30 minutes.

Teamfight Tactics (TFT)

Released in 2019, this League of Legends mode belongs to the auto chess or auto battler genre, which originated within the Dota 2 community.

In this mode, eight players compete in one-on-one battles, and the winner is the last player standing. To achieve this, they combine champions from a randomly selected pool and use their abilities and items to create team compositions capable of winning each round of combat.

What is the competitive scene of League of Legends like?

Now it’s time to talk about the most important aspect of following any eSport: the competitive scene. League of Legends is often cited as the biggest eSport in the world, featuring eight professional leagues — which are divided into national and regional tiers.

Each year, these leagues host their own championships, leading up to the League of Legends World Championship — better known as Worlds. Organized by Riot Games since 2011 and streamed on Twitch and YouTube, this tournament is the pinnacle of LoL’s competitive scene.

As with any sport, skill levels vary between competitions. To make the LoL eSports ecosystem more balanced and competitive, Riot restructured its leagues into Tiers 1, 2, and 3 — formerly known as Majors and Minors. In addition, semi-professional and academy leagues provide important opportunities for new talent to rise through the ranks of the world’s biggest eSport.

Meet the LoL leagues below:

Tier 1

These are the top-tier professional LoL tournaments, featuring five major leagues:

• League of Legends Pro League (LPL): China
• League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK): South Korea
• League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC): Europe, Middle East, and North Africa
• League of Legends Championship of the Americas (LLA): North America, Central America, and South America
• Legends of Championship Pacific (PCS): Asia and Pacific

Each league grants a slot in the First Stand Tournament, played after the first split of the season. The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is held after the second split, and each league sends two teams to compete.

The Worlds (League of Legends World Championship) features 17 slots. Each league sends three teams, and the MSI champion qualifies automatically — as long as they make it to the playoffs of their regional split. Additionally, the second-best MSI region earns an extra Worlds slot.

Tier 2

Following the restructuring, Tier 2 includes teams that are less established in the global competitive scene. The most notable leagues in this category include:

• Pacific Championship Series (PCS): Asia and Pacific
• Vietnam Championship Series (VCS): Vietnam
• League of Legends Japan League (LJL): Japan
• EMEA Masters: Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Tier 3

• La Ligue Française (LFL): France
• Türkiye Championship League: Turkey
• Prime League Division 1: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
• Rift Legends: Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
• LVP Superliga: Spain
• Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC): Nordic countries, UK, and Ireland
• PG Nationals: Italy
• Liga Portuguesa de League of Legends: Portugal
• Greek Legends League: Greece
• Arabian League: Middle East and Africa

Semi-Professional and Academy Leagues

Among the most prominent current semi-professional leagues are these eleven:

• LCK Challengers League: South Korea
• Vietnam Championship Series B: Vietnam
• Liga Regional Norte: Mexico, Caribbean, Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador
• Liga Regional Sur: Argentina, Chile, and Peru
• Liga Nacional México: Mexico
• Liga Nacional Centro América y Caribe: Caribbean and Central America
• Liga Nacional Colombia: Colombia
• Liga Nacional Ecuador: Ecuador
• Liga Nacional Chile: Chile
• Liga Nacional Argentina: Argentina
• Liga Nacional Perú: Peru

The Academy category functions as a “development league” for rising pro players. There are eight main Academy leagues:

• Pacific Challengers League: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia, and Oceania
• Asia Challengers Invitational: China, South Korea, and LCK
• North American Challengers League: United States and Canada
• LCK Academy Series: South Korea
• League of Legends Development League (LDL): China
• TBLE Rising Star: Vietnam
• Circuito Desafiante: Brazil
• Akademi Ligi: Turkey

What are the main League of Legends eSports tournaments?

Riot Games hosts several tournaments around the world, including national, regional, and international competitions. With the recent changes to the league distribution format, the studio has introduced a new championship that will take place starting in 2025.

In addition, some existing tournaments, such as the Brazilian Championship of League of Legends (CBLoL), will also undergo changes to their qualification models. Check out the main LoL eSports tournaments below:

New International Tournament (Name Not Yet Announced)

One of the biggest new additions to the LoL competitive scene is a new international tournament. Still unnamed, this new event will take place at the beginning of the year — specifically in May — and will bring together one team from each region: LCK, LPL, LEC, APAC, and the Americas.

The teams that qualify for this new international tournament will face off in a round-robin format. All regions will play against each other in a series of matches. The top four teams from this phase will advance to a bracket, and the winner will be crowned at the end of a six-day international showdown.

CBLoL (Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends)

Will CBLoL end? If that’s something you’re worried about, here’s the good news: it’s just an unfounded rumor. The Brazilian Championship of League of Legends will continue even after the unification of the three American leagues.

With the new structure, CBLoL will become the South Conference. Despite being smaller, it will feature three Brazilian teams, one team from the LLA, and one invited Tier 2 team — which functions as a kind of second division in the League of the Americas. This conference system is similar to how the NBA divides basketball teams by region.

In the new CBLoL, teams will face each other in a single round-robin with two-match series, using a 3-1-0 points system. At the end of this stage, the top-performing teams will move on to a knockout stage using a single-elimination format.

CBLoL also guarantees qualification for international tournaments. In the first stage, teams compete within their respective conferences, and the best team will qualify for the new global tournament. The second stage qualifies two teams for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), one from each conference. Finally, the third stage sends one team from each conference to Worlds.

CBLoL Academy

Who says eSports don’t have youth divisions? CBLoL Academy is a tournament organized by Riot Games to develop young talent, featuring the same organizations that compete in CBLoL.

Veteran players — those over the age of 24 or with more than 19 appearances in the main league — are not allowed to compete. For that reason, it would be inaccurate to call it a second division of CBLoL. Another positive aspect is the inclusion of mixed-gender teams, since gender is not used as a criterion for team composition.

In December 2023, Riot announced format changes and increased the number of teams to twelve. These two new spots are decided through qualifiers organized by Liga GG, which consist of two events with 128 teams each — using best-of-three matches and a best-of-five final to determine who advances.

The new CBLoL Academy tournament features three stages. In the first, teams face off in single matches in a single round-robin format. The top four teams advance to the playoffs, while teams ranked 5th to 12th are split into two groups in a double-elimination bracket, playing best-of-three series.

The playoffs begin with best-of-three quarterfinals. The semifinals and finals are best-of-five. The champion of the Academy earns a cash prize and qualifies for that year’s CBLoL — though, like other youth divisions in traditional sports, the main goal is talent development.

League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC)

The League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) is the professional League of Legends eSports league for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), organized by Riot Games. Ten teams compete in the LEC.

Each season is divided into three splits. Each split’s regular season lasts three weeks, during which every team plays once against every other team in a single round-robin format (for a total of nine games per team). The top eight teams move on to a double-elimination group stage, from which the top two teams in each group advance to a four-team double-elimination bracket.

Each split’s playoffs award prize money and championship points, which determine qualification for the Season Finals.

The three split champions, along with additional teams based on championship points, compete in the Season Finals. The Season Finals use a double-elimination format, and the top four teams advance to the upper bracket.

League Championship Series (LCS)

The League Championship Series (LCS) is the premier League of Legends competition in the United States and Canada. It’s organized by Riot Games and features ten franchised teams.

The LCS begins with the Lock In tournament, which consists of a group stage followed by an eight-team single-elimination bracket. The regular season is split into two stages of three rounds, totaling 225 games. Teams are ranked by win percentage, with ties broken by tiebreaker matches, if needed, at the end of the regular season.

The playoffs follow a double-elimination format, with the top six teams entering the winners’ bracket and two additional teams entering the losers’ bracket. The winners’ bracket functions like a traditional tournament, with defeated teams dropping into the losers’ bracket.

The top teams from the winners’ and losers’ brackets face off in the grand final. The winner of the second split, along with the runner-up and third-place team, qualify for the League of Legends World Championship.

League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK)

The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is South Korea’s top-tier League of Legends competition — and arguably the most popular LoL league globally. Teams from the LCK have won the World Championship seven times, including a streak of five consecutive titles from 2013 to 2017.

Ten teams compete in the LCK, with two seasons per year. The regular season features a double round-robin with best-of-three matches. The top six teams advance to the playoffs, with the top two seeds receiving a bye to the second round.

League of Legends Pro League (LPL)

The League of Legends Pro League (LPL) is China’s premier League of Legends competition. The regular season features 16 teams in a single group, with all matches being best-of-three. The top eight teams advance to the playoffs, where all matches are best-of-five.

Teams ranked 5th to 8th in the regular season start in Round 1. The 1st and 2nd place teams start in the semifinals (Round 3), while the 3rd and 4th place teams begin in the quarterfinals (Round 2).

The winner of the first split represents China at the Mid-Season Invitational. The winner of the second split, the team with the most championship points, and the winner and runner-up of the regional qualifier all qualify for the World Championship.

Mid-Season Invitational (MSI)

The Mid-Season Invitational is essentially a “mini-worlds” in League of Legends. It features the first-split champions from each region, as well as the runners-up from the major regions. In the 2024 edition, held in May, Gen.G from the LCK (South Korea) emerged as the winner.

For the first time ever, the MSI champion was awarded a guaranteed spot at Worlds, which also counts as an extra slot for their region. The second-best performing region at MSI also earns an additional Worlds spot — in 2024, this was China’s LPL, with Bilibili Gaming as the runner-up.

The tournament format is as follows: in the Play-In Stage, 8 teams compete. They’re split into two double-elimination brackets, and all matches are best-of-three. The top two teams from each bracket advance to the next stage.

Next, 8 teams compete again: 4 teams pre-qualified and 4 from the Play-In Stage. This stage uses a double-elimination bracket with all matches played as best-of-five. The champion qualifies for that year’s World Championship — but only if they also reach the playoffs in the second split of their respective league.

Worlds

Worlds is the League of Legends World Championship. The 2024 edition was held from September 24 to November 2, spanning three countries: Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. The next edition will be hosted in China, with dates yet to be announced.

Top League of Legends Teams in the Global Competitive Scene

It’s no surprise that the biggest name in eSports has so many teams that it’s hard to keep up with them all. To give you an idea, the Worlds tournament has been won by nine different teams, with another six reaching the finals — and a total of 25 participants overall.

The Mid-Season Invitational has had 29 total participants over nine years, with six different champions and six other runner-up teams. And that doesn’t even count the teams from each of the nine global regions, all competing in leagues packed with squads that make LoL thrilling and highly competitive.

South Korea has clearly dominated the international scene, with the Asian country claiming eight World Championship titles. China follows with three Worlds victories, while EMEA and South Asia have each won the League of Legends World Championship once.

Check out some of the top LoL teams in the competitive scene below:

T1 (formerly SK Telecom)

T1 is the most successful team in Worlds history, having won the League of Legends World Championship four times: 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2023 — they’re the current title holders. They also finished second in two other editions: 2017 and 2022.

Founded in 2003 under the name SK Telecom, the team initially focused on StarCraft competitions and entered League of Legends in 2012. T1 has also won the Mid-Season Invitational twice (2016 and 2017) and finished as runner-up two additional times.

One of the most iconic names on the team is Lee Sang-hyeok — better known as Faker or the "Unkillable Demon King." At 28, he is widely regarded as the best LoL player in the world and has been part of all of T1’s championship runs.

Gen.G

Founded in 2017 as KSV Sports, Gen.G originally began as an Overwatch franchise, but has been involved in LoL since day one — acquiring the Samsung Galaxy eSports division along with players who won the World Championship that same year.

A year later, KSV rebranded to Gen.G and has performed especially well in the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), winning five titles. Internationally, the team won Worlds in 2014 and 2017, and most recently won the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational.

Fnatic

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in London, Fnatic is active in eight of the most popular eSports disciplines, including League of Legends, which they’ve been competing in since 2011.

In their very first LoL season, the EMEA team won their first and only World Championship. Their best Worlds run since then was in 2018, where they finished second. Domestically, they are a dominant force in the LEC, with seven titles to their name.

G2 Esports

Originally founded as Gamers2 in 2014 by former player Carlos "ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago and investor Jens Hilgers, the team rebranded to G2 Esports in 2016. Since its inception, G2 has been a regular in the EMEA League of Legends scene.

Their biggest international achievement was winning the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational. They’ve also secured the LEC title an impressive thirteen times. Emphasizing diversity and inclusion, G2 launched its all-women’s team, G2 Hel, in 2022.

paiN Gaming

Founded in March 2010, paiN Gaming is one of the top Brazilian eSports organizations. Legendary Brazilian LoL players like Gabriel "Kami" Bohm, Felipe "brTT" Gonçalves, and Matheus "Mylon" Borges have all been part of this pioneering team — which also started the trend of offering fan memberships, generating revenue rivaling that of top Brazilian soccer clubs.

After winning the title in 2014, paiN became the second-most decorated CBLoL team with four championships. They’ve also finished second eight times and hold the record for most finals appearances: twelve. Other major wins include the 2015 International Wildcard Tournament, the 2019 Superliga ABCDE, the 2022 Ignis Cup, and two CBLoL Academy titles.

LOUD

Founded in February 2019 by YouTuber "PlayHard" Oliveira and entrepreneurs Jean Ortega and Mathew Ho, LOUD joined the competitive League of Legends scene in 2021 and has already made its mark — winning the CBLoL four times in a row.

LOUD focuses on recruiting young and promising players and is also well known for its strong presence on social media. They were the first Brazilian eSports organization to surpass 1 billion views, making them one of the most beloved teams among fans of digital sports.

Cloud9

Founded in 2013, Cloud9 competes in nine major eSports titles and is the most successful active team in the LCS, with five championships and seven runner-up finishes — TSM has one more title but has since exited the LoL scene.

Although Cloud9 has never won Worlds, the team is a powerhouse in North America. They hold the record for the longest-standing lineup in LoL’s competitive history: 750 days. This ended when Hai “Hai” Du Lam — one of the team’s founders — retired.

Team Liquid

Based in Utrecht, Netherlands, Team Liquid is known for being a multi-regional organization active in fifteen eSports disciplines. Their LoL team is based in Los Angeles, USA, and has been competing since 2015, when they acquired Team Curse.

Famous for its solid infrastructure and player development, Team Liquid is a strong contender in the LCS, having won five titles and finished second twice. They’re still chasing their first Worlds title, which could finally come in 2024.

Can you bet on League of Legends?

Absolutely! Just like with traditional sports, eSports — including League of Legends — are part of our betting catalog, and LoL is one of the top games for fans and bettors alike.

Popular betting markets in LoL include:

• Match Winner and Map Winner
• Total Maps (with or without Handicap)
• Exact Map Score
• First Blood on each map
• First Baron on each map
• Race to 5, 10, and 15 Kills per map
• Who will score Kill 10, 20, and 30 per map

To learn more, check out our Sports Betting Encyclopedia. It includes all the terms and concepts you need to bet responsibly and enjoy the thrill.

Bet on League of Legends at Blaze!

Now that you know all about League of Legends and its exciting competitive scene, it’s time to get in on the action — but not without bringing responsibility along for the ride.

Study the tournament calendar and rules carefully, understand how each market works, and get to know the teams and pro players competing — after all, knowledge is key to making smart, realistic bets.

And here’s a reminder: don’t go to our LoL eSports betting page thinking of it as an investment, side hustle, or source of income. Betting involves serious risks to your financial and mental well-being and should only be done for fun. Use only money you can afford to lose without compromising your responsibilities.

Deal? Now you’re ready to finish this article and place your bets on League of Legends at Blaze. Good luck!