How League of Legends Ranked System Works — Ranks, Divisions, Rewards, Seasons
League of Legends is one of the most popular competitive games in the world and its playerbase is always looking for a challenge. If you want to start the League of Legends grind yourself, here’s everything you need to know about the ranks in League of Legends.
League of Legends is a MOBA, meaning multiplayer online battle arena. It has taken the esports world by storm, with 5.15 million fans tuning in to watch the League of Legends World Championship last year. But how did these pros get where they are now?
League of Legends has a complex ranking system that allows players to prove themselves against other competitive players all around the world. Here’s exactly how to start climbing the ranks yourself.
How League of Legends Ranks Work
The ranked mode has nine tiers that are each split into four divisions. You can climb through these tiers to reach the top rank — which is where all the best players in the world are — by earning League Points (LP).
You earn LP by winning matches. But you also lose LP if you lose games or behave in a toxic fashion, like rage quitting.
The amount of LP you win or lose is determined by your matchmaking ranking (MMR). This is a secret number that is only known by Riot Games. It’s determined by your overall performance, including individual match performance and match outcomes. If you win against a team that has a higher MMR than yours, you will gain more LP.
Ranked Seasons
There are in-game ranked seasons that last about a year. They are divided into two splits. At the end of each ranked system, your tier and division will be locked — that will be your official rank for that season.
Depending on your ending rank, you will earn a certain amount of in-game rewards. The higher the rank, the more rewards.
Unlock Ranked
To access ranked play this season, you’ll first need a player level of 30 or above. You also need to have 20 or more champions on your roster.
If you meet this minimum requirement, you can do your 10 placement matches. The outcome of these matches will determine your starting rank, with more wins resulting in a higher rank of course.
The goal is to place everyone in a rank where they are equally skilled as those competing with and against them. From here, this will largely be determined by your MMR, but you’ll notice that you are often competing with players around the same rank as you.
What Are the Ranks in League of Legends?
We mentioned nine ranks a bit earlier. These are the ranks in order:
- Iron
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Master
- Grandmaster
- Challenger
Each of these ranks has four divisions until you reach Master. You need to earn 100 LP to reach the next division within a rank. Once you hit 100 LP in the highest division of your tier, you will move to the lowest division of the next rank.
Once you reach Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger, you’ll still earn LP. But it will now only determine your rank. To get to Master, you need to win your Diamond promos and reach 100 LP. For Grandmaster, you’ll need to reach 200 LP on top of having more LP than the lowest Grandmaster in your region. To reach Challenger, you’ll need to hit 500 LP and beat the lowest-ranked Challenger in your region.
According to Riot’s database, most LoL players are in Bronze, Silver, and Gold. As you get higher into the ranks, there are fewer and fewer players. With around 8 million average players a day, there are an estimated 1,500 players competing in Challenger rank. There’s no denying that it’s quite the feat to get to this level so let’s get to grinding!
To better your chances of advancing your rank, play with a team. This way you have better communication and strategy with players you can practice with. Find a champion and a role you feel comfortable with and make this your focus to improve your skills.
Olivia is a long-time esports journalist and editor who covers just about every game but has a deep love for the FGC. Her goal is to find community-driven stories that bring a new perspective to the esports scene. In the past, she has worked for Team Liquid, Rogue, Inven Global, Dot Esports, Upcomer, and more. Outside of esports, Olivia enjoys Kirby, Pokemon TCG, Fallout, and writing science fiction. She can be found trying out new foods, traveling, or hanging out with her two orange cats. Fun fact: Olivia can do some video game and cartoon impressions!