League of Legends Ranking System Explained

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League of Legends is one of the most famous games ever: it has played a huge part in helping the booming eSports sector to grow in stature and is played by an estimated 125 million people every month. This title, developed by Riot Games, is hugely competitive and is enjoyed by professionals and noobs (amateurs) alike.

To ensure that every player enjoys their experience and is paired with appropriate team members and enemies, there are League of Legends ranks. These are designed to sort the wheat from the chaff, and separate beginners from the likes of prolific League of Legends champions. Here, you’ll find all League of Legends ranks explained, so you’re ready to start climbing the ladder.

Full list of League of Legends Ranks

There are nine different ranks in League of Legends, and players move up the League of Legends ranks in order by playing the game and winning. Each tier in LOL has four divisions, and you need to hit 100 LP in division one of a tier before you can move up to division four of the next level.

Here’s a breakdown of the League of Legends ranks from entry level to professional:

• Iron
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Diamond
• Master
• Grandmaster
• Challenger

With each tier having four divisions, that means players may have to rank up approximately 35 times before they can reach the pinnacle of the game. However, some players enter the game at higher tiers to begin with, based on how they perform in their placement games.

With more than one million active monthly players, it’s essential that the game is separated in this way. Otherwise, noobs wouldn’t stand a chance against higher level players. Likewise, the pros would find the games too easy if they were matched with someone with a low League of Legends ranks percentage.

According to playing figures, the majority of players worldwide play in the silver and gold tiers. This highlights how it is possible for dedicated players to rise up through the early ranks, but it’s hard for them to progress beyond those levels.

Only the world’s most serious players break through the Platinum tier and beyond. This requires honing your skills and specialising in certain heroes. Also, you need to keep up to date with patch notes and make sure you know what’s meta at any given time. The landscape can change quickly as heroes are frequently nerfed or buffed.

League of Legends Ranking Distribution

No matter what tier you find yourself in among the LOL rankings, you’re going to be able to find games with people at your level. If there aren’t enough players in your division at the time you log on, you may be paired up with gamers from the divisions close to your rank.

Despite the fact that you’re always going to be able to play with players all over the world regardless of your tier, you’ll notice that the ranking distributions differ greatly. There’s a lot of congestion in the mid-level ranks, while only a select few players make it into the upper echelons.

See below for the League of Legends rank percentage for each tier in the game:

• Iron – 4.5%
• Bronze – 21%
• Silver – 33%
• Gold – 27%
• Platinum – 10%
• Diamond – 2.3%
• Master – 0.034%
• Grandmaster – 0.028%
• Challenger – 0.0012%

It’s clear from these percentages that only a select few players participate at a professional level. Indeed, many of the best in the business would recommend hiring a coach, just as the world’s top athletes in sport would do.

eSports athletes need to develop winning habits that go well beyond the actual playing of the game. These involve watching pro streamers, practising religiously, and studying the game assiduously. The aim is to get discovered by a top team and, by training with those players, you can take your skills to the highest levels.

How to Unlock Ranked Mode in League of Legends

You can’t just start playing League of Legends and enter the ranking tiers immediately. Indeed, even getting onto the ladder is a selective process. First of all, you can enjoy LOL without ever entering ranked mode. However, if you want to level up through the tiers, you need to participate in these competitive games to gain experience points.

Before you can enter the LOL tiers, you have to reach level 30 in the regular game mode. You also need to have at least 20 different champions. If you want to carry on levelling up in the regular mode before joining ranked, this is also a possibility. Doing so will earn you more rewards.

When you start out in ranked mode, you’ll play ten games to determine your current level. If you win a lot of games in these, you can end up being placed in higher tiers and skip the lower levels. Once you’re on the ladder, you can then keep winning games to move up the tiers and gain XP.

There are some requirements that players need to meet if they want to enter the pro league. These include being above the age of 17 and being at least a Diamond 3. League of Legends rankings are done in seasons and get reset at the end. At the start of the new season, you may be put in a lower tier to begin with as your MMR decays.

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