Category: League of Legends

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League of Legends

Riot Games unveils its new Champion: Viego, The Ruined King

It’s only a few days into the new year, but League of Legends is already being shaken up as Riot Games reveals their latest champion, Viego, The Ruined King. The new champ was unveiled across social media on the evening of Jan 8, with a new animated cinematic. The cinematic initially debuted on Riot’s 2021 League of Legends celebration video, but a full champion reveal followed shortly after.

However, this wasn’t the first time we’d seen Viego. Hero has been hinted earlier in 2020 as part of a new game revealed by Riot Forge partner Airship Syndicate. Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, is set to be a turn based RPG based in the League of Legends universe. Viego, the titular Ruined King is set to be a major character in the game.

Viego’s Abilities

For now though, Viego enters Summoners Rift as LoL’s latest champion. And his list of abilities looks incredibly impressive. First up, his passive, Sovereign’s Domination, which allows Viego to possess the enemy champion he kills. This lets Viego take on their abilities, effectively turning him into a version of Sylas that can copy every ability except an ultimate.

https://twitter.com/Blizz_lol/status/1347609507220779008

Viego’s Q is a percentage health draining passive, with a nasty stab added as an active for good measure. His W is, of course, a dash, and a stun – because what new champion would be caught dead without a mobility move and a hard crowd control ability?

The Ruined King’s E is Harrowed Path, which casts a wave of black mist around nearby walls. It grants camouflage to Viego and gives him extra attack and movement speed. This is definitely his major ganking ability.

Viego’s ultimate is Heartbreaker, allowing Viego to discard anyone he currently possesses with his passive, and blinking forward. Once he’s finished his blink, Viego will attack the nearest champ with the lowest percent health, dealing damage based on missing health.


With his plethora of damage abilities, and stealthy dashy fun, Viego The Ruined King is seemingly set to be primarily played in the Jungle role. However, a champion that can steal literally any non-ultimate ability in the game is surely destined for more than just a single spot on the rift. The Ruined King will likely be seen in many lanes, especially right after release.

Keep your eyes peeled to Dartfrog on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch for all the latest League of Legends News.

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New Year means new logos for the LCS, Rogue, and others

It’s 2021, a new year, and that means new logos! Teams and esports brands of all ilks constantly look to reinvent themselves to keep ahead of trends, and League of Legends is no different. The biggest change so far? The LCS completely redesigning its look:

https://twitter.com/LCSOfficial/status/1346516816424800258

The LCS struggled to remain relevant in 2020. With poor performance on the international stage – in the limited showings it got, and disastrously bad production values, the LCS was on the verge of becoming a b-league. But with this new logo and refresh, new logos, and a seeming new attitude, the LCS is once again poised to go back to the halcyon days of the early 2010’s. Back then, the LCS was the must-watch LoL league.

Of course logos and new purple colour schemes are nice, but it’s nothing without a great cast of casters and personalities. The new list of talent is pulled from across the League community, with familiar names from the likes of the now defunct ESPN Esports. This pads out a crew of veteran casters and up-and-coming personalities giving huge variety to the new on-air talent. It’s going to be exciting to see how this cast present the new LCS in 2021.

Outside of entire leagues, teams have also started the year by revealing a new look. LEC team Rogue began teasing their new logo right from the start of the year:

Then, on Jan 4, the new logo debuted. A reimagining of the classic hooded figure we’ve come to know, the new Rogue logo is more simplistic and minimal, giving the whole team a more defined style.

It’s the perfect way to breathe new life into a team that has dramatically risen in standings in the LEC. After years of struggling, In Spring 2020 they seemed on the verge of a wave of success, making it into the Spring Playoffs. Despite early elimination the team came back to top the LEC 2020 Summer Split, with an incredible 13-5 record, beating out G2, Fnatic, and MAD Lions to get there. Sadly once again they fell in the playoffs. But with a new logo, a chip on their shoulder, and even greater heights to shoot for, 2021 is poised to be the year of Rogue.

But Rogue weren’t the only League of Legends team debuting a new logo. The LCS’ Team Dignitas have (hopefully) once and for all abandoned their ‘owl’ logo and returned to the lovable alien critter Digi which represented the team from its founding until 2017.

What’s more, the storied esports organisation heaped some shade on rivals Evil Geniuses, parodying their own recent logo design. In a mock-up of EG’s own logo reveal, the DIGI logo was broken down to its raw parts.

Image via Dignitas
(Image via Dignitas)

2021 is young, and there’s no doubt plenty of marketing executives eager to spice up some older team’s logos. Keep up with all the rebrands with DartFrog on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch.

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Team Griffin officially disbands: The end of a surprising enigma

Team Griffin, League of Legends team and two time LCK runners up have officially disbanded. The news broke on the morning of Jan 5 on Team Griffin’s Twitter account. However, this merely confirmed what many had already expected to be the fate of the team. The organisation disbands having spent three years within the Korean LoL scene.

Griffin had failed to become part of the LCK’s new franchised format ahead of the 2021 season. After a dismal fifth-place finish to the Challengers Korea would have secured Griffin’s spot in the new LCK. With their departure, competitive LoL has witnessed the end of one of the great fairytales in esports.

The team were first formed in 2017 to compete in Challengers Korea 2017 Spring. Comprised of a group of amateurs with high aspirations the team set their sights on the LCK. With players such as the now LNG Esports jungler Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong and Choi “Sword” Sung-won. The team successfully navigated the summer playoff and promotion tournament to earn a spot in the KeSPA cup 2017. There they admirably took a game off SKT T1 before their elimination.

In 2018 the team finally achieved promotion to the LCK. Immediately making a splash, the squad finished second in LCK Summer 2018, and headed to the regional finals. The team narrowly missed out on a Worlds invite, but later shocked the world by winning 2018 KeSPA Cup. 

Griffin competes in LCK 2020 Spring (Image via Riot Games)

Riding high, the team won both the LCK Spring Split and Summer Split in 2019. However, each time the team would fall short of winning the playoffs, falling to now rivals T1. From here, the team gathered the unfortunate reputation for choking. They lived up to this slight at Worlds 2019, where they found themselves eliminated by Invictus Gaming. 

After a humbling at Worlds, and the departure of their world-class calibre mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, the team floundered. Unable to replicate their earlier success, which in hindsight may have been simply the product of Chovy’s incredible play, the team fell out of the LCK in 2020 Spring. They failed to return to the league in the summer promotion tournament. 

What remained was a slow death for the team. With a new format shaking up the LCK there was no chance of a Cinderella-style qualifier available anymore. Today’s announcement stating that Griffin disbands confirms simply what many had already know – Things are over for Griffin.

But the team leaves behind a remarkable legacy and story. Rising from an amateur league and defeating the best teams in the world to earn your spot is something that cannot be replicated. Griffin will remain remembered as the last great amateur team that came out of nowhere and shocked the LCK.

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T1 Partners With K-pop Academy SM Institute In New Venture

South Korean esports organisation T1, primarily known for their highly successful League of Legends team, is partnering with SM Institute to create a brand new academy. The news broke late on December 30th across Twitter thanks to K-Pop fan John Yoo.

SM Institute is a training and academy arm of SM Entertainment, a South Korean entertainment company. One of the country’s largest star makers, SM Entertainment manages numerous top level K-pop stars, including Girls’ Generation, Kangta, S.E.S, BoA, and Red Velvet. 

T1 are multiple time World Champions in League of Legends, having been victorious at Worlds in 2013, 2015, and 2016. The team were also runners up in 2017, and came 3rd-4th in 2019. Their legendary player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, made headlines this year after becoming a part-owner of the organisation.

The deal marks an exciting new avenue for the esports organisation. K-Pop is on the rise in popularity across the globe. South Korea’s most-famous esports team partnering with the country’s most-famous stars is a winning combination. 

The new academy looks to provide schooling and higher education for esports professionals. The SM Institute currently allows stars to continue their education while pursuing their dreams of K-Pop stardom. This new collaboration between T1 and the SM Institute will instead provide high-quality “K-Education” to esports players who may have forgone schooling to concentrate on their esports career.

T1 has vastly expanded its reach this year, partnering with organisations including Nike to grow their brand (Image via T1/Nike)

T1 has made numerous high profile deals in the past year. They’ve partnered with Twitch.tv, Nike, and Hana Bank to expand the reach of the organisation. The company is rapidly growing into South Korea’s most recognisable brand – Outside of K-pop. By partnering with SM Entertainment T1 is making moves to become an even larger presence globally.

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LCS 2021 format changes: More games, less time off

It may still feel far away in your mind, but 2021 is looming, and with it a fresh year of LCS action. Yesterday, on December 14, the NA’s top League of Legends division gave us an early Christmas present: A new format.  Revealed in detail on Travis Gafford’s YouTube channel, the format debuts a number of changes. These include new names for the playoffs, a shorter Spring Split, and lots more games.

The season will kick off on January 15 with “The LCS Lock In.” This cash and charity tournament will pit the LCS teams against each other for $200,000 in prize money. The teams will be split into a unique set of groups decided by the previous season’s champions. The top four teams from each group advance to a playoff with the winner taking home $150,000 plus $50,000 for a charity of their choice.

Image via Travis Gafford

The Spring Split will run between February 5 and March 14. In a trimmed-down triple round-robin best-of-one format, teams will play three games over a weekend. This gives us 15 games a week total. As a result the spring split will only take 6 weeks. Following this, the spring playoffs, now renamed the “Mid Season Showdown” will take place. The top 6 teams clash in a double elimination tournament. The victor will be crowned as spring champion and given a spot at the Mid Season Invitational.

Summer will follow a similar format, with another round-robin season. This time it’s a full 9 weeks, running from June 4 to August 11. After this, the summer playoffs, now name the LCS Championship, will pit the 8 top teams against each other. The top three teams will then head to Worlds 2021, representing NA on the grandest stage.

Image via Travis Gafford

But questions have to be asked whether this is the right move for the LCS. While some reactions to changes have been universally positive, others have seen flaws in the new format. Carrying over results between splits will make each game more important to the league. However, questions remain over how the LCS will handle the new schedule.

Last year the LCS had subpar production values. On top of this, the new schedule, at least in spring, will make it incredibly difficult for players to have any down time. The schedule seems more akin to the manic mass games of Season Three, rather than the sleek modern production we’ve seen from the LEC in these past years. As a result, it remains to be seen whether the LCS in 2021 can deliver a top quality product and production while dealing with these new format changes. 

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TSM upheaval as SwordArt signed, Doublelift retires

Big moves are shaking the foundations of Team SoloMid, as the NA team signs Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh, just as bot laner Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng retires. The two-year, six million dollar deal was revealed on Thursday, November 26, giving TSM fans something a little extra to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.

SwordArt is one of the most renowned LoL players ever to emerge from the LMS and PCS regions. The Taiwanese player began playing in 2012, with stints on the Gamania Bears and ahq, before joining his most famous roster Flash Wolves.

A multiple-time Worlds participant, the support player is widely regarded as one of the best in the world at his position. Most recently, he was part of the Suning team which went to the Grand Finals of Worlds 2020. The team narrowly missed out on victory, only losing to eventual champs DAMWON Gaming.

The record $6 million deal rockets SwordArt to the top of the list of best-paid players in North America. TSM is one of just a few organisations in the world that could pay such a prize tag for an import talent.

But the signing of a world-class support may not be enough to console TSM fans. On Wednesday, November 25th  Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng  announced his retirement from pro play. The bot laner for TSM revealed his plans in a Twitlonger posted on his official Twitter.

In the post, Doublelift reflected on his decade within the game, and the achievements and accolades he’d amassed. Over the course of just under 10 years in the game, the legendary bot laner was part of Counter Logic Gaming, Curse Gaming, Team SoloMid, and Team Liquid. Always one of the premier players of the North American server, Doublelift is perhaps the most successful domestic NA talent of all time. 

However, his international achievements have been limited. What’s more, the latter part of his career has been tarnished somewhat by his links to allegations of serious conflicts of interest within the LCS. 

Many members of the League community joined in paying homage to the retiring player.

Doublelift retires from the pro-scene having left behind a legacy of incredible play for his region.  Looking for more off-season bombshells? Count on Dart Frog for all the latest League of Legends news! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

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Perkz signs with Cloud9: A new hope for NA fans

League of Legends will see its most important transatlantic trade in recent memory as Luka “Perkz” Perković officially signs with Cloud9. The announcement of Perkz deal with Cloud9 came just hours after his former team, G2 Esports, revealed the signing of Martin “Rekkles” Larsson. The signing, revealed across social media on November 20, fills in some of the final pieces of the LoL free agency period.

We’ve known since early November that Perkz would likely make the move from the LEC to the LCS. However, only now has the move been confirmed. With a reported five million dollar buy-out clause and a multi-million dollar contract on the line, exactly where the star mid and bot laner would land was up for debate. Taking over the mid role in C9 was one of the most likely destinations.

Three days ago, G2 Esports bid farewell to Perkz in an emotional series of posts on their website. Since debuting on the team as a rookie, the player developed alongside G2 Esports to become one of the very best in the world. His move to NA could fundamentally shift the balance between the regions.

And that’s just what Perkz wants to do. In a reply to the announcement of his signing, the freshly minted NA import proudly stated that this would be the “first year that NA is better than EU.”

Still, despite the confidence shown by C9’s newest player, questions remain as to whether the Croatian player will be able to adapt to the NA lifestyle. North America’s solo-queue comes under frequent criticism for its bad attitude, and numerous cases exist of players moving regions to NA, only to flounder in their new region. Notable examples include the legendary Henrik “Froggen”  Hansen, Alexey “Alex Ich” Ichetovkin, and Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen.

However, if Perkz can avoid the fall off in ability and motivation which has struck almost every import to NA, C9 seem poised to dominate the region. Their 2021 roster is one of their strongest of recent years, and with the signing of Perkz to Cloud 9, they’re ready to make a push to more international competition – something they missed out on in 2020.

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Rekkles leaves Fnatic, likely to head to G2 Esports

The free agency period is always time for the unexpected, but few would have guessed that one of Fnatic’s most iconic players would be set to leave the team. However, yesterday evening(October 18), news broke across social media that Martin “Rekkles” Larsson was set to depart the organisation. 

What’s more, Rekkles most likely destination is none other than G2 Esports, Fnatic’s long-time LEC rival. The organization was in the market for a top-tier bot laner following the departure of Luka “Perkz” Perković. It had been previously rumoured that a Rekkles move to G2 was likely, but with his departure from Fnatic, the move is all but set in stone.

Rekkles has been a staple of Fnatic teams for years, playing for the squad in three stints between 2012 and 2020. His first run with the team was all the way back in Season 2, with the youthful carry playing as part of Fnatic and Fnatic.Beta. In 2013 the player would rejoin Fnatic for a short stint, only to leave again in November of the next year. 

His most prominent run, however, would start in 2015. Since then Rekkles has helped the team make four Worlds appearances, including a deep run in 2018 that saw the team reach the finals. Despite a loss against Invictus Gaming during Worlds 2018, Rekkles is still seen as a world-class bot laner and a worthy replacement for fellow semi-finalist Perkz.

The move also rejoins Rekkles with former Fnatic teammate Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther. The pair were part of the aforementioned semi-finalist lineup of 2018, and between them are two of the most decorated players in the LEC. It was a tall order to find a suitable replacement for Perkz, who Caps had developed a significant rapport with, but G2 has done just that in reuniting Rekkles and Caps. 

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Before Free Agency, the Culling Begins: A List of Leaving Players

The most exciting part of the League of Legends off-season is here: Free Agency. At the stroke of midnight GMT, the window for teams to sign free agents will finally be open, and the big names signings and trades can begin.

But before that is the most scary time of the year for players: The cuts! Although most players will have known for weeks their time is limited, fans and observers will now get to see the full damage inflicted by the off-season shuffle.

North America

NA often seems like the centre of the League of Legends universe, especially when the money starts flying. The region can drop big bucks, and free-agency is perhaps the only time of the year where the size of your wallet matters more than where you finished at Worlds. But in order to make big trades, you need gaps in your roster. So for these NA players it was time for the chopping block.

With rumours of a Perkz signing, and a move to midlane, it was only natural Nisqy would be on the block. This move all but confirms the signing of one of the best players in the LEC to Cloud9.

Having spent much of it’s offseason attempting to save the planet, FlyQuest will say byeQuest to Terry “Big” Chuong. The academy support looked poised to take over from sought after Korean support Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun, but those hopes have been dashed with his release.

But the biggest move has to be from Dignitas. The team has slashed its roster, saying goodbye to Kim “Fenix”  Jae-hun, Henrik “Froggen” Hansen and Omran “V1per” Shoura. The team is likely to look to completely rebuild this off-season.

Korea

We were well into Tuesday for South Korea when the free agency window opened, meaning these guys got a sour start to their Tuesday.

Gen.G parts ways with support Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu. The removal throws into speculation whether the teams other support, Kim “Life” Jeong-min, will explore his free agency, or use this lack of competition to secure his spot.

Hanwha Life Esports cuts Son “Lehends” Si-woo and Park “Viper” Do-hyeon. The pair previously played together on Griffin, and would them finding a home together again would be a lethal combination.

Meanwhile in a huge blow to World Champions DAMWON Gaming, top laner Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon, Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee have decided to explore free agency. The pair could resign with DAMWON, but as Worlds-winning players, they’ll likely have a lot of suitors.

What’s more, things went from bad to worse for DAMWON when later in the day Lee “Flame” Ho-jong agreed to part ways with the team. DAMWON, champions less than a month ago, now seem to be in full rebuild mode.

Cuts and notifications of free agency are just the opening shots of the offseason shuffle, and more bombshells will likely drop in the near future.

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T1 Disables LoL Twitter After Backlash Over LS Controversy

It’s the coaching drama that just won’t die – despite how much T1 would like it to. Storied Korean organisation T1 was today forced to disable its League of Legends Twitter after a wave of backlash against a statement released by the team. Just hours after the squad’s most recent post, Twitter visitors were greeted with news that the account had been disabled.

The page visitors to @T1LoL’s account were greeted with after the deletion

In the statement, the team talked about it’s decisions to educate it’s staff on appropriate ways to use voice chat program Discord. This was due to recent leaks from the program about its future coaches. However, it was the absence of any explicit mention of its most recent coaching drama that inflamed tensions.

The statement released by T1 which many felt didn’t go far enough to address harassment by its fans

T1’s refused to properly address the harassment received by Nick “LS” De Cesare after he was rumoured to be the team’s newest coach. Korean T1’s Fans had very vocally complained of the non-Korean’s signing, and it was ultimately announced that Dae-in “Daeny” Yang and Jae-min “Zefa” Lee would instead by taking the coaching roles.

However, the seeming switch in coaching appointment was widely regarded as T1 caving to fan pressure. What’s more, LS had received extreme harassment due to his rumoured coaching position. T1 fans had attempted to contact the prospective coach’s grandmother. Fanatical supporters even went so far as hiring a van to drive around Seoul adorned with slogans complaining about his appointment. LS was ultimately forced to delete his Twitter account and limit his online presence to avoid the continued harassment.

T1’s failure to address the extreme behaviour of their Korean fans in their latest announcement infuriated LS supporters on Twitter. Especially those within the western League of Legends community. After receiving a huge amount of criticism on their post, the organisation opted to delete their Twitter – ironically following in the same footsteps LS was forced to tread.

The deletion leaves T1 League of Legends without it’s most followed social media account just hours before the start of free-agency – and T1 fans in the dark during this crucial period. The team will have to rely on others to break the news of it’s signings, another misstep for the organisation.

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