League of Legends — About the Game: Champions, Online Play, Esports, and Statistics (2026)
League of Legends (LoL) is a team-based MOBA developed by Riot Games, released in 2009 and now the most popular game of its kind in the world. Two teams of five players battle on the "Summoner's Rift" map to destroy the enemy Nexus.
Gameplay and Champions
The game features over 160 champions with unique abilities, five roles (top, jungle, mid, ADC, support), and a deep meta that changes with every patch. A match lasts an average of 25–40 minutes. The game is completely free—monetization is based on skins.
Popularity and Statistics
- Riot officially confirmed 100 million monthly active players back in 2016; current estimates put the audience at 120–135 million MAU.
- Between 30 and 40 million people log in to the game every day.
- The largest regions are China and South Korea, with a combined total of about 90 million players.
- More than 111,000 viewers watch LoL streams on Twitch at any given time.
Esports
The Worlds Championship attracts tens of millions of viewers annually and remains the most-watched esports event on the planet. Professional leagues include the LCK (South Korea), LPL (China), LEC (Europe), and others.
The Riot Universe
Based on League of Legends, the series "Arcane," the card game Legends of Runeterra, the auto-battler Teamfight Tactics, and the mobile game Wild Rift have all been developed.
Where to Play
PC and Mac, via the Riot Games client. The game is free to play, features Russian localization (via third-party solutions), and has dedicated servers for Europe.