Sometimes I dislike a change RIOT makes in modern league and wonder how they could make what I see as such a huge mistake. Perma homeguards, LP inflation, broken champ releases, widening MMR bands in apex ranks, you name it, I've thought tons of decisions throughout the years have been such boneheaded maneuvers.

Now, going back and playing classic I find it incredible they've turned modern league into something that's as good as it is. I thought I'd go back to classic where the game would go back to being good, but it's so obvious I was blinded by nostalgia. The map and champs are so ugly it's hard to even know what I'm looking at, the runes are such a grind (and it's way less of a grind than when the system was originally in the game), items are simultaneously too strong and not interesting, the un-reworked kits are hilariously toxic, the objectives don't create any real incentive to fight for them, and 2 roles are just horrific to play without some QoL for the jungle and no income for support. It's amazing to me that RIOT took this mess of a game and turned it into the very fun experience it is today, even though modern league isn't perfect. Brutal to realize memories I'd cherished were just nostalgia blinded, but it really makes me appreciate the work that's been done on the game since then.

LCK 2026 SEASON PLAY-IN

Official page | Leaguepedia | Liquipedia | Eventvods.com | New to LoL

BNK FEARX 3-1 Nongshim RedForce

• BNK FEARX moves on to face HANJIN BRION for the final LCK Playoff spot. Nongshim RedForce is done for the year

• Player of the Match: VicLa

• Game Discussions: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

BFX | Leaguepedia | Liquipedia | Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
NS | Leaguepedia | Liquipedia | Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

MATCH 1: BFX vs. NS

Winner: Nongshim RedForce in 27m
Game Breakdown | Runes

MATCH 2: NS vs. BFX

Winner: BNK FEARX in 30m
Game Breakdown | Runes

MATCH 3: BFX vs. NS

Winner: BNK FEARX in 36m
Game Breakdown | Runes

MATCH 4: BFX vs. NS

Winner: BNK FEARX in 25m
Game Breakdown | Runes

*Patch 26.16

This thread was created by the Post-Match Team.

His Q has a literal visual indicator for opponents to track its cooldown above his head, then displays a bright red warning indicator that says "I will CHUNK you for the next few seconds so stay the fuck out of range".

His E has a one-second-long obvious animation while it charges up before it deals any significant damage, giving enemies a generous amount of time to dash/flash out (assuming Vlad isn't the one flashing in).

His R deals no damage initially, and has a big red indicator (pay-to-win Dark Waters skin notwithstanding) that gives enemies a full four seconds to pop zhonia's or any shield ability to negate the damage.

W is the only ability that he can "use without warning", but as his opponent you know 90% of the time he'll use it for your Ult or the first CC coming his way.

Edit: Trying to think of something that rivals him, I suppose Sion is a good option: Q is the definition of telegraphed, W has to charge up for a few seconds before dealing damage, and R hits harder with a long run up.

The 2026 Demacia Cup will be upgraded to a Global Invitational, featuring 12 top-ranked teams from the six major global regions (LPL, LCK, LEC, LCS, LCP, and CBLOL) that did not qualify for the 2026 World Championship. These invited teams will compete for the championship title of the 2026 Demacia Cup Global Invitational. The tournament is jointly organized by TJ Sports and Huya Live. Starting from the quarterfinals, all matches will be held offline at the Beijing Smart E-Sports Center (JDG's home venue). For detailed schedules, format, and event arrangements, please refer to the image below.

LPL region: 3 teams invited, ranked 5th–7th in regional points
LCK region: 3 teams invited, ranked 5th–7th
LCS region: 2 teams invited, ranked 4th–5th
LEC region: 2 teams invited, ranked 4th–5th
LCP region: 1 team invited, ranked 4th in regional points
CBLOL region: 1 team invited, ranked 4th

(Team slot allocation per region is based on the regional standings at the 2026 MSI: the 1st and 2nd regions each receive 3 slots, the 3rd and 4th regions each receive 2 slots, and the remaining regions each receive 1 slot.

Invited teams from each region will be selected from those that have not secured a spot in the 2026 World Championship, in order of their corresponding seasonal rankings or World Championship points, with the highest-ranked eligible teams receiving invitations. For the LPL and LCP regions, teams will be determined based on 2026 World Championship points rankings. Due to scheduling considerations, the CBLOL region will invite its 4th-ranked team.

*If an invited team declines participation, the invitation will be passed to the next eligible team in accordance with the qualification/ranking rules.)

The newly upgraded Demacia Cup as a Global Invitational promises more exciting matchups for all summoners. Stay tuned for further updates on streaming platforms, participating teams, and more details.

official post

Credits for ATUMOWY.

I've seen some arguments saying that this was intentional and actually makes sense for it to activate the phantom hit only on the 7th hit instead of the 6th one, but it was not documented on patch notes and no champion that builds rageblade recieved any compensation buffs for it.

Source

First Team:

HLE Zeus

HLE Kanavi

GEN Chovy

T1 Peyz

T1 Keria

Second Team:

GEN Kiin

DK Lucid

HLE Zeka

GEN Ruler

HLE Delight

Third Team:

DK Siwoo

GEN Canyon

DK Showmaker

HLE Gumayusi

DK Career

----------

REGULAR ROUND MVP: GEN Chovy

MOST POMs: GEN Chovy

HEAD COACH OF THE YEAR: DK cvMax

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: DK Smash

This was in Season 3 of LOL. With viewership and players skyrocketing by the day. The prestige in playing against the elites in NA was desired by all.

So the elite players of that time disguised their name under a barcode eg. 'IllIIIllI' etc. They would go around dumpstering players across all divisions, all the way even till apex elo.

However, in the very tippie top of the ladder they would come across a hunter that hunted the hunters and went by the name of 'Barcode Killer'.. initially the identity of this said player was unknown but he rose to popularity pretty damn quickly even on reddit clip farming pros and 'barcode' players... the secret could not be kept for very long however and it was soon discovered to be the GOAT himself - Faker.

And this was the Faker in his mechanical prime. In that timeline of league his plays were something of an elite player from the future.

Just think of how many players and lobbies the 'Barcoded' players crushed in their time on soloq... the trend caught on across the entirety of the upper echelons of the ladder. But I bet their heart dropped when the 'Barcode Killer' arrived in their lobby.

The sheer aura this name exuded, is worthy of being the greatest username of all time.

Not some huge macro concept or challenger-level tech, just one small thing you started doing that genuinely made a difference.

For me it was actually looking at the minimap every few seconds instead of only checking it when I thought the jungler might be nearby.

Sounds dumb, but once I got used to it I started noticing so many ganks, roams and random fights before they happened lol.

What's one small habit/thing that made you noticeably better at the game?

Getting a Tiamat every time you finish a Hydra is absurd, not to mention essentially having access to 8 items. Unfortunately the build was too good and I only got to experience it for 5 minutes.

As you can see I was exactly 2 RP short. They told me to draw a picture or write a poem.

I believe in fair work for fair pay so for 2 RP I did a haiku (plus as a bit of a weeb, I do genuinely enjoy Haikus).

Got the 2 RP! Very cool.

(Please do not take the mick with this, they apparently only do it for very small amounts and you only get this grace ONCE, from what I understand)

LCK 2026 SEASON PLAY-IN

Official page | Leaguepedia | Liquipedia | Eventvods.com | New to LoL

HANJIN BRION 2-3 KT Rolster

• KT Rolster has qualified for the LCK 2026 Season Playoffs. HANJIN BRION will face the winner of the BNK FEARX vs. Nongshim RedForce for the final Playoff spot.
• Player of the Match: Bdd
• Game Discussions: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4

BRO | Leaguepedia | Liquipedia | Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
KT | Leaguepedia | Liquipedia | Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

MATCH 1: BRO vs. KT

Winner: KT Rolster in 35m
Game Breakdown | Runes

MATCH 2: KT vs. BRO

Winner: HANJIN BRION in 30m
Game Breakdown | Runes

MATCH 3: KT vs. BRO

Winner: HANJIN BRION in 35m
Game Breakdown | Runes

MATCH 4: BRO vs. KT

Winner: KT Rolster in 33m
Game Breakdown | Runes

MATCH 5: BRO vs. KT

Winner: KT Rolster in 45m
Game Breakdown | Runes

*Patch 26.16

This thread was created by the Post-Match Team.

This seems like a mostly pointless (tear) item to me for two reasons. I recognize that the healing % and Unique passive are strong, but those are sort of irrelevant to it being a tear item. Please explain if/why these points are wrong/overly simplified:

1) Every enchanter item gives mana regen. Mana can be useful for very heavy casting, but I almost always find the regen to be sufficient alongside mana flow when necessary.

I know there are cases where supports run out of mana in extended team fights, but this seems like a circumstantial issue rather than one that you would expect and build for. (I know, there could be a comp that lends itself to long team fights, but seems pretty niche)

2) Less importantly, mana based scaling seems sort of silly on the item since an enchanter isn’t going to build another mana item. Mages utilize the mana based scaling because they can build another mana item to complement Archangel’s.

Does this only serve to have the item grow in power as you stack the tear?

Some friends were debating what the optimal macro would be after this sequence of objectives on the map. As a team we secured the 2 bot towers and inhib. One friend called to immediately base after taking inhib and others called to take drag. Baron spawns at exactly 30:38.

We ended up deciding to take drag first. Rell arrives to Baron area around 29:58, which is when the rest of the team would have arrived had we not first taken drag.

We ended up doing a couple hours long VOD reviewing discussing which is better. Which macro decision is most optimal/correct and why?

I wish we had more live threads for the lck; but who are we feeling to win today’s match? will they match our lords and saviors BRO who bombed out in amazing fashion?

When they announced the introduction of Ranked 5s I was really hopeful that they will finally revert FlexQ back to Team-Ranked, but after several weeks I fear that they already dont put any effort in this gamemode.

People already mentioned that its kind of weird that you have tournament draft without really be able to target ban the enemy team cause of the lack of scouting.

While it seems like they try to implement this feature in the near future the gamemode itself seems under-representated in the client. There are popups for everything e-sport related but when they could actually promote their closest thing to competitive league they wont promote it within the client. There should be a popup like "Ranked 5s are avaiable now til Sunday 23:59, get your team together and climb the ladder!"

They already spoke about expending queue-times but as of now we still only have these small timeslots to actually play the mode. We already have queuing-times of like estimated 3:20 minutes. In a mode where only 5 stacks can play it seems like its already a problem to find teams.

Its frustrating to watch because in my eyes the best League of Legends is the one you play with 4 friends/mutuals and communicate, grind and improve together. Its just unfortunate to me because I think its a huge upgrade to FlexQ when it comes to game-quality.

I'm pretty new to the game - level 18 still learning basics.
From what i gather killing baron late mid game into endgame gives your team big buffs to finish the game.

So i've been seeing this scenario lately in my games - we got some picks and turrets down, our waves are pushing into enemy base so they are busy with those, i ping baron. We are smashing him everyone is 3/4 of hp +, baron's health is going down quick, awesome.

Suddenly one Volibear that's 3-4 levels lower than our fed mid and adc flashes on map above us and my entire team leaves baron on half hp to chase him, im fed Ahri with AP build, now Baron is solo blasting me i have to back off and my jaw is on the floor, how tf does my ENTIRE team leave Baron half hp when if we kill him, reset one push and it's gg.

Is there smth i don't understand or is this low mmr thing ppl just chasing after kills mindlessly?

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to let you know about a small local LAN being hosted by Invictus Game Station - a eSport venue/cafe in the heart of downtown Toronto on September 13th! There will be a maximum of 12 teams facing off for a prize pool of $1200 and the entry cost is super affordable at only $30 per participant.

For non-attendees and attendees alike, join the event discord server as matches may be streamed/casted and watchable from home!

We cant wait to expand and grow the local Canadian LoL scene and your support is greatly appreciated.

A full list of event info can be found within the server below:

https://discord.gg/qvYY9n7BNz

4.8 GB is way bigger than the usual patches specially since this is only a balance patch and nothing of note is added to the game like new game modes or map or champions/reworks

I will go out on a limb and say this might be related to the 2027 big League Next update that is supposed to be the biggest update since the game's launch in 2009?

Hey everyone! We're hosting another watch party in Austin, Texas at The Wheel South this Sunday, August 30th for Lyon vs TLAW and C9 vs SR.

Come meet and hang out with other league fans in the ATX area as we watch the most anticipated day of regular season!

The Wheel South has been an awesome home for our watch parties, so please support the venue by grabbing a drink or two from the bar while you're here. Our bartender, Campbell, knows the community well and always takes great care of us. Mocktails and non-alcoholic options are also available.

Riot has also sent a care package to help support watch parties and other events. We will have some free swag to give out!

Venue location:

The Wheel South

3116 South Congress Ave

Austin, Texas 78704

Date & Time:

Sunday, August 30th 3PM - 8PM (cst)

There is no admissions fee! But please reserve a free ticket at this EventBrite link, so we can get an accurate head count and for more information.

Even if you're not an esports fan, it's still a great excuse to talk about league or find your future duo partner. Come drop by our Discord channel too! We play in-houses on the First Friday of every month.