League of Legends
LoL 1o1
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The Red Bull guide to watching
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Even if you've never played it
Lol in numbers
How to watch it
Jargon Buster
How is it played?
Understanding the lanes
What are the positions?
What is LoL?
Credits
How are characters chosen?
WHAT IS LOL?
League of Legends is a multiplayer strategy game of magic and mayhem that’s become a global phenomenon – not just among those who play it, but as one of the world’s most popular spectator esports. In 2019, 100m viewers tuned into its World Finals. Played on a map known as Summoner’s Rift, the game sees two teams of five – a red team and a blue team – attempt to destroy each other’s bases and, ultimately, take out a structure known as the Nexus to win. LoL may look tough to decipher at first, but it is simple in its essence. Here’s how to understand, watch and enjoy League of Legends.
Click on the first icon
Turrets
objectives
Nexus
Upgrading
Farming
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Click on the first scene to continue...
Played on a map known as Summoner’s Rift, the game see two teams of five – a red team and a blue team – attempt to destroy each other’s bases and, ultimately, take out a structure known as the Nexus to take the win. LoL may look tough to decipher to the uninitiated, but in its essence it’s pretty simple. This guide will provide a way into watching League of Legends for everyone.
In the early stages of a game, players typically ‘farm’ three lanes by killing neutral/non-playable creatures for gold and XP (experience points) while pushing for lane dominance. This is also known as the ‘laning phase’. If you don't know what the lanes are, don't worry - all will be explained.
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The more gold a player collects the more they can strengthen their champions (characters) by spending it on items to cast better spells and cause extra damage. These include armour, magic resistance, attack damage, speed and ability power. Players can carry six items at a time.
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Turrets play a critical part in match play, causing damage to enemies and also allowing a team to better control the battlefield. For all these reasons and more, teams will call upon minions, a non-player controlled army spawned by the Nexus, to help topple some turrets.
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Objectives
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Watch out for teams taking on side missions, such as hunting down non-playable monsters in the shape of dragons and Barons. These objectives can provide gold as well as group buffs which boost the champions' abilities.
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To win a game, teams must destroy a structure lying at the back of the rival base known as the Nexus. As long as all three of the Inhibitors (structures blocking super minions from being deployed against their base), or at least one of the turrets on the base, are still standing, the Nexus is impenetrable. When a team does attack the Nexus, expect to see plenty of clutch moments as rival players frantically rush back to defend it.
Objecties
Part 1 of 3 All matches begin with a Draft Pick – a player versus player game mode giving teams a chance to not only take turns to pick their champions (characters) but even ban certain champions from being used against them.
Part 2 of 3 There are 150 champions to choose from, each assigned a specific class or subclass (e.g. Fighter or Mage) which indicates patterns in behaviour and also dictates their place on the battlefield (position).
Part 3 of 3 When a character dies, they respawn. However, players must wait for some time before their champion is allowed to re-enter the game, increasing the enemy’s chances of destroying a base or controlling a lane.
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Trundle
Darius
Warwick
Lulu
Zed
Ashe
Understanding how the three lanes are used is absolutely fundamental to appreciating LoL. Anywhere on the map that isn’t occupied by lanes or bases is known as jungle, and it’s here that ‘junglers’ rely on killing neutral monsters to win gold and XP.
understanding the lanes
TOP
Hover over each of the lanes
MID
BOT
Arching around the north-west of the map and typically occupied by the team’s opposing top-laners, who favour tough champions with survivable traits such as Tanks or Fighters.
The most contested piece of real estate on Summoner’s Rift. It’s the shortest path to the Nexus and probably the most important lane of all.
'Bot' for bottom lane. Teams tend to find more luck with kills here early on than in other lanes. It's a good spot to bag some dragons, too. Keep your eyes on it as you’re bound to see some big plays.
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IN 2019, FANS WATCHED MORE THAN
Arching around the north-west of the map, the top lane is typically occupied by the team’s opposing top-laners, who favour sturdy champions with survivable traits, such as Tanks or Fighters.
You’ll struggle to find a more eagerly contested piece of real estate on Summoner’s Rift than the mid lane: the shortest direct path to the Nexus, it’s arguably the most important lane of all.
Top:
Hover over each pin on the map
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2
3
4
5
Sits in the top lane and often goes 1v1 against their opposite number. Every top-laner has a spell to teleport, allowing them to jump across the map in seconds.
These steely competitors sift through the jungle lying between the lanes, clearing it out for gold and XP. Often found jumping between lanes to help turn 1v1s to 2v1s, they can swing the game.
Jungler:
Generally sticking to the middle lane, allowing them to move around the map with ease, mid-laners tend to play as strong, heavy-damage champions.
Mid:
Attack Damage Carry is a role traditionally filled by long-range, consistent-damage characters such as a Marksman with a bow. Will look to get stronger throughout the game and often becomes the key players.
ADC:
A utility player moving around the map helping others to become stronger, picking champions with ‘crowd control’ abilities to stop or stun the enemy at vital moments.
Support:
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There are five main roles in LoL, each with their own responsibilities and positions on Summoner's Rift.
Tap on the map points...
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Don’t miss the LoL World Championship. Held between October and November, it’s a month-long season finale giving teams a chance to win US$2.5m in prize money, the Summoner’s Cup, and global bragging rights. South Korea’s SKT hold the highest number of wins with three titles. The other major to watch out for is the prestigious Mid-Season Invitational. In 2019, G2 became the first European side to win the event, defeating Team Liquid in the final thanks to an MVP display from mid-laner Caps. Over on Riot’s official website you’ll find schedules and livestreams for all worldwide leagues and majors, while Twitch is where many of world’s best players stream between events.
illustration here
Meet the G2 team
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475m
Korea
Worlds apart
the language of lol
Hover over each to reveal a fact
100m
16
800
Most watched esport
HOURS OF COMPETITIVE LoL ACTION.
475M
WORLDS APART
100M
THE SEASON’S BIGGEST EVENT IS THE LoL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ‘WORLDS’.
PEOPLE TUNED INTO 2019’S EDITION, MAKING IT THE MOST WATCHED ESPORT TOURNAMENT OF ALL TIME.
LoL/WORLDS: 100M WORLD SERIES: 96M
WIMBLEDON: 70M
GOLF MASTERS: 37M
KOREA MODE
THERE ARE OVER
countries represented in the esport. South Korea leads the way with 9.7 percent of all elite players.
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PROFESSIONAL LoL PLAYERS REPRESENTING 100 TEAMS WORLDWIDE.
THE LANGUAGE OF LOL
THE GRAND FINAL BETWEEN G2 ESPORTS AND FUNPLUS PHOENIX AT WORLDS 2019 WAS BROADCAST IN
DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
Source: www.esportsearnings.com
Source: www.digitaltveurope.com
Source: www.businessinsider.com
short opening line to explain what the page is and why we might wanna find out the words...
AD/AP
Draft
Jungling
Clutch
Peeling
Creep
Ganking
Trading
Dive
Inhibitor
Snowball
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Tap each word to define...
Both are stats. Attack Damage (AD) is how much health is lost directly from an attack and Ability Power (AP) is the effectiveness of the champion's abilities
During a match you'll hear commentators using plenty of LoL lingo. To ensure you don't miss a trick, arm yourself with these need-to-know terms.
When a champion performs a well-timed move under pressure
Any character in the game which isn't playable unless a spell or item takes control of them – such as a minion. Creep Score (CS) is how many minions players get the last hit on.
A continued attack on an enemy or opponent’s towers
A game mode where players take turns picking their champions and banning certain champions from facing them
Harvesting and gaining gold and XP for yourself
A sneak attack on an enemy laner usually involving the help of one or two team-mates
The three glowing structures behind the towers in a base
Killing non-playable creeps for gold and XP between lanes
To use crowd control on the enemy to stop a team-mate from being attacked
The exchange of damage between opposing champions
When a champion or team gains an early advantage and quickly grows more powerful
Hover to reveal definitions
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Writer: Joe Ellison Illustrator: Blood Bros
