League of Legends news:
It’s been almost a year since we last talked about how the League of Legends community has been growing. Last November, we released an infographic with some cool stats, and that proved to be pretty popular -- so we’re doing it again!
Check out the October 2012 infographic below. Since November of last year, 11 million monthly active players have become 32 million…and Teemo dies 324% more frequently!
We continue to be astounded and humbled by your support. Thank you, summoners.
Click the image below for the complete infographic!
Would you look at that – we’ve got another spectacular collection of League of Legends fan art and creations from summoners like you! Have we mentioned lately how talented you all are?
Welcome to this week’s Pro Player Pick, where we feature one of League of Legends’ best players elaborating on his champion of choice.
We know the issues during the World Playoffs yesterday sucked. It was frustrating for everyone watching at home, and we feel that frustration. We’re taking everything we’ve learned from yesterday to make the conclusion of the Playoffs and the World Finals next Saturday as great as they can possibly be.
As a token of our thanks for your tremendous patience and dedication, we’re going to be giving out double IP for 24 hours after Finals, starting midnight PST on Sunday, October 14th. 48 hours, starting 08:59 CEST on Saturday, October 20.
We’ve rescheduled the remainder of the World Playoff matches for this coming Wednesday, October 10th, starting at 5:00 PM Pacific Time. The games will be streaming live in free HD on both Twitch and Own3D, with the same production quality and broadcast features (player cams, replays, interviews, etc.) that you saw up until we ran into technical difficulties. A full list of foreign language streams is still to be determined.
It’s been over one week since we launched the Honor Initiative, one of the largest experiments ever conducted at Riot. Today, I’d like to take some time to share a few results we’ve seen, and talk a little more about how we’re preventing Honor spamming.
Welcome to the Midnight Madness grindhouse picture show…kicking off our science fiction double feature tonight is a frightening fable of a medical mystery gone awfully awry! Join us, dear summoners, as we venture deep within a secret subterranean laboratory. There, an unnervingly tall, lean figure paces the flooded floor, shattered glass crunching underfoot. Mad Scientist Singed mutters feverishly to himself…
My greatest creation yet has escaped! I am at once proud for molding such a magnificent specimen, so strong and ingenious that he broke free of his tank of his own accord, but already he is wreaking havoc across Valoran, leaving a trail of terror (and pools of noxious slime) in his watery wake!
- When Urgot was wheeled here after yet another bodily decimation, I took it upon myself to finally render him truly undefeatable. The resulting Giant Enemy Crabgot was marvelously grotesque to behold, but it seems he’s developed an urge to track down a suitable Lovely Lady Crabmate. Now he’s kidnapping bountiful beauties right and left! 260 RP
- Nightraven Fiora was first on the scene, melting out of the shadows and bravely brandishing her rapier. Alas, even her graceful duelist dance could not out-maneuver those massive, vise-like pinchers; fortunately, her armor prevented her from being shredded into sushi. 487 RP
- I must say that Sun Goddess Karma fought as valiantly as she could, but her flimsy fans proved useless against his rocky, shellacked skin. She must be rescued before her people call down the looming apocalypse ahead of schedule! 487 RP
We know the issues during the World Playoffs yesterday sucked. It was frustrating for everyone watching at home, and we feel that frustration. We’re taking everything we’ve learned from yesterday to make the conclusion of the Playoffs and the World Finals next Saturday as great as they can possibly be.
As a token of our thanks for your tremendous patience and dedication, we’re going to be giving out double IP for 24 hours after Finals, starting midnight PST on Sunday, October 14th.
After a series of connectivity issues at our LA Live venue, we've had to reschedule the final games of the Season 2 World Playoffs. We'll be completing the last game of the CLG EU and Team WE quarterfinal match and finishing out the Semifinal Matches in the near future from a new location with a secure Internet connection. The matches will be broadcast live, so stay tuned for scheduling information.
Day two saw the regional finalists compete against the best of Group A and B, and saw the hopes of one region go home.
For the first round of the World Playoffs, eight teams faced off in two groups for a chance to move on to the quarter finals against the seeded teams Team SoloMid, Moscow Five, Team WE, and Taipei Assassins. With only half of the teams advancing today, every match was a battle for tournament survival, and the best-of-one format meant there were no second chances.
Suddenly, a sleek black cougar slinks from behind a curtain. With a guttural growl, it transforms into French Maid Nidalee. She lazily twirls her spear and adjusts a lace ruffle framing her overflowing décolletage.
And you call yourselves intelligentsia—you clearly haven’t gleaned anything from this inquisition. All you pompous, affected faux-dilettantes deserve to tumble off your high horses! As if you have any notion of what really befell this unfortunate soul; every savvy bestselling mystery writer knows that the real juice is squeezed down in the servant’s quarters.
- He’s been the consummate Jolly Roger this night—swashbuckling, yo-ho-ho, all that ridiculous swill—but I witnessed Gangplank slipping a noxious tonic into our guest’s shot of rum. Confiscate this fiend’s grog-soaked blade, then pay up 487 RP to watch him walk the plank!
- Udyr is literally a beast! He’s apt to let those primal instincts take over at any time. Looking at the marks on our unfortunate guest’s throat, we can’t possibly rule out a savage tiger attack—how bizarre, yet convenient. Cage this animal for 487 RP.
- No one does a sensuous fan dance quite like Karma, but, as everyone knows, she’s a cruel mistress as well. How else to explain her hastily-wrapped kimono and conspicuously stained silk fan? 487 RP might buy her a new one, but probably not where she’s going.
The League of Legends Season Two World Championship Playoffs are now live!
The playoffs serve as the beginning of the Season’s end where twelve of the World’s top teams collide in Los Angeles. Teams representing China, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, North America, and Europe skirmish for their share of $2,000,000 and the chance to go head to head in the World Finals. Two teams at the top of the elimination bracket will meet at the World Finals on October 13th to fight for the $1,000,000 grand prize and the title of Season Two World Champions.
Carlos Rodriguez, known to his fans as ocelote, is the AP Carry for the European team SK Gaming. ocelote began playing League of Legends during the game’s beta. After going pro, he joined team Dimegio for a short time before moving to SK Gaming.
Home to a massive local eSports scene, China sends its two best teams, World Elite and Invictus Gaming, to Los Angeles to prove they can win once again in an international tournament. Competing as a professional player in China means attending live events throughout the country where thousands of players come to compete. In addition, both of the teams headed to the World Championship have had international exposure, competing in the Challenger Circuit, Korea’s Azubu The Champions, and Southeast Asian events. Hundreds of thousands of fans will be watching as the Chinese teams hope to prove themselves to the rest of the world.
Southeast Asia’s two best teams emerged from Garena’s newest professional eSports circuit, the Garena Premier League. Like the upcoming Season Three Championship Series, the Garena Premier League features eight professional teams from around Southeast Asia. GPL teams are made up of highly skilled and dedicated players, all of whom play League of Legends full time. From the two qualifying events, one in Taipei, the other in Da Nang, two teams, the local favorites, emerged victorious: The Taipei Assassins and the Saigon Jokers.
Card sharks everywhere will be excited to know that Twisted Fate is receiving a Visual Upgrade in the upcoming patch.
Hey Summoners,
We wanted to give you an early heads-up that we’ll be making a few changes to those massive documents of legal jibber-jabber that you agree to when you play League of Legends – the Privacy Policy, Terms of Use (TOU) and End User License Agreement (EULA). The changes will be taking effect in the next patch (scheduled for October 9th), and today we’ll outline some of the key changes you can expect to see. It’s not a lot, but if you’re interested, read on (and of course, be sure to familiarize yourself with all the changes when the complete docs are posted):
Despite being the most recent region brought to League of Legends, Korea has a long history of elite eSports competition. Soon after launch in December 2011, gaming houses sprang up around Seoul and two leagues were being broadcast on Korean television. The premier series, OGN’s Azubu The Champions, rapidly became the most watched eSports show in the country.
Home of the Season One Champions and Runners-up, Europe has been a hotbed of competitive League of Legends since launch. Europe is known for its deep competitive scene, with many teams able to take games off of the best teams in the region, and its wide participation in tournaments. The region is host to a huge number of online tournaments and teams often compete in multiple online tournaments every week. While a few players are able to make a living via streaming, teams are typically more dependent on winning tournaments for their professional careers than North American players. Unlike North America, many of Europe’s top teams are members of longstanding eSports organizations, such as SK Gaming, Fnatic, and Moscow Five. This fiercely competitive region comes to the Season Two World Championship with a mind to show once again they are the best.
Honor is now live in League of Legends!
After every match-made game, you’ll have the ability to Honor both teammates and enemies. To give Honor, click the green “thumbs up” button in the post-game lobby. Clicking this icon for teammates will allow you to Honor them for being friendly, helpful or for showing great teamwork. You’ll even be able to give an Honorable Opponent mention to enemies that are respectful in either victory or defeat.
From North America, three of the longest running League of Legends teams advance to the World Championship: Team SoloMid, Dignitas, and Counter Logic Gaming. Many of the star players on each team – like Reginald, Dyrus, Scarra, and HotShotGG – have been playing League of Legends since beta, and the team websites have become pillars of the League of Legends community. These teams have been tested in battle, representing a competitive region that hosted eight Challenger Circuit events, including The MLG Spring Championship and IPL 4, and saw 11 teams earn circuit points over the course of the year. Although the region might not be considered the favorite, it’s possible that playing in front of a cheering home crowd will help one of these teams take home the title of Season 2 World Champion.
Ladies. Gentlemen. Damnable fools. Not a soul leaves stately Vayne Manor until I reveal the uncouth ruffian amongst us who dares to ruin my night.
There has been a murder.
Here’s what I know: one casualty, third floor parlor. Our victim – a very wealthy benefactor of the Veteran Summoners Foundation, poised to donate a hefty sum. And one of you killed him. My maid Nidalee is, at this very moment, cleaning up the mess so that no further party-goers are alarmed. You champions are dangerously close to being debased and forever uninvited from these privileged events. Shall we peel back the shadows and ascertain our culprit?
- As a Noxian assassin, you’d imagine Katarina would be our prime suspect. She insists that she’s only here to chat with the upper crust, and I haven’t seen her leave the foyer near the concert hall. 487 RP.
- After inspecting the body, there was no evidence of void energy or caustic spittle, ruling out Kog’Maw as a suspect. We must remove him from the buffet, however. 487 RP.
- Puncture wounds perforate the body, but Graves’ shotgun, Destiny, doesn’t make holes like these. You’d notice powder burns on the tattered cloth and scorches on the skin. Outlaw, maybe, but I trust him within these walls. 487 RP.
Pentakill Morde
*tap* *tap* Is this thing on? Okay, what am I announcing? Pentakill is proud to announce that we have officially replaced our recently deceased drummer… uh… whatever his name was. The fifth member of Pentakill is now Olaf, the Berserker. Just wait until you hear the drum rolls this guy pulls off on Undertow, and the way he makes the crowd roar with his Reckless Swing.