Do you think you have what it takes to become the best League of Legends player? To be among the other Challengers and have your name written next to just a few players? Well, you better prepare for hours and hours of playing and hope that your team will be strong enough to beat opponents and earn League Points.
We will briefly mention the rules of the League of Legends ranking system, the difference between solo/duo queue and flex queue, and show the rank distribution of players numerically according to the latest relevant data. So, let’s begin.
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How Does The League Of Legends Ranking System Work?
Firstly, let’s get acquainted with the League of Legends ranking system. Here is all you need to know before trying to compete with other players.
You can unlock ranked mode in League of Legends only when you reach level 30 and have a minimum of 20 owned champions. Riot assumes that by level 30, you will have a specific gaming skill and be able to compete with much better players who have a higher rank than you, and these players are everywhere.
You can choose whether you want a solo/duo queue or a flex queue during the queue. You can play alone in the solo/duo queue if you are an experienced player and you think you can carry the game. The duo queue is intended for you and another player with whom you have an agreement to play together.
The queue duo is often favored when a weaker player wants to get to the desired higher rank faster, then he plays with someone who has such a higher rank and thus relies on his skill and help to win the game.
In addition to the solo/duo queue, there is also a flex queue that allows you to play with the whole team if you have one. A team of five players can come in handy if you have your friends to play with you and you can all agree on who will play which role and what you will focus on in the game.
Sometimes the best stats are the ones that arise from the flex queue, so be careful who you want to play with. However, Riot does not allow the flex queue to be played with four pre-arranged players, logically, because the one who comes enters an almost whole team. But if you don’t have a whole team, but there are three of you, you can still choose flex queue.
Also, your rank in the Flex queue is independent of your rank in the Solo queue so that you can win prizes for your Flex tier at the end of the season.
Each League of Legends ranked season lasts almost a year. During one season, there are three splits, each lasting three months, and during them, the player can collect split points. Enough split points allow the player instant rewards, and after each completed split status, split points are reset.
The ranking system operates based on nine tiers. The weakest is the Iron tier, followed by the Bronze tier, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, and best of all – Challenger tier. Each tier (except the top three) also has four divisions in which a player can be located.
Divisions are numbers from I to IV, I is the best division, and from it, the player has a chance to move to a higher tier, and IV is the weakest division which, if careless, gives him trouble throwing into a worse tier than the one he is in. During ranked games, a player collects League Points (LPs) which actually measure his rank.
The amount of League Points that one player can win or lose is related to the Matchmaking Rating, a hidden algorithm that somehow measures the actual gaming skill of each player. When a player collects 100 League Points, he must play a promotion series to advance to a higher tier. Of course, he loses League Points by losing games, and by winning games, he gains League Points.
Each player ends the ranked season with a specific score. That rank is locked and can’t be changed anymore, and the catch is that the players will start playing within this locked rank next season. Riot has made an effort to reward the best players, so at the end of each ranked season, players can get prizes, such as special skins, depending on the rank in which they finished the season.
So, the whole concept of the ranking system lies in the fact that players want to be in the highest possible tier at the end of the season. However, the rank distribution is quite different among the players, which we can see from the following data that are relevant for April 2022.
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Draft Ranked Flex
| Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron IV | 0.28% | Silver II | 8.5% | Diamond IV | 0.68% |
| Iron III | 0.61% | Silver I | 7.4% | Diamond III | 0.37% |
| Iron II | 1.5% | Gold IV | 9.8% | Diamond II | 0.33% |
| Iron I | 2.8% | Gold III | 4.8% | Diamond I | 0.29% |
| Bronze IV | 6.1% | Gold II | 4.4% | Master | 0.18% |
| Bronze III | 5.6% | Gold I | 3.4% | GrandMaster | 0.038% |
| Bronze II | 7.2% | Platinum IV | 4.2% | Challenger | 0.016% |
| Bronze I | 8.0% | Platinum III | 1.7% | ||
| Silver IV | 10% | Platinum II | 1.3% | ||
| Silver III | 7.5% | Platinum I | 1.2% |
This is data taken from leagueofgraphs.com, which from time to time publishes statistics related to the League of Legends game. As you can see, the most players who play flex queue in a ranked mode in the League of Legends community are within the Silver tier (43%) and Gold tier (25%).
Not surprisingly, players want to rise to a higher rank. Within the Bronze rank are 20% of the players, and the higher ranks such as Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger have less than 1% of the total population of all players.
All tiers above the Gold tier are considered elite tiers. Starting with the Platinum tier, it accounts for 7.6% of players. That is why it is considered a success for players to get out of the Gold Tier. On the other hand, players within the inferior tiers, the Iron tier or Bronze tier, should work on their gaming skills in order to successfully get out of the worst tier.
Other players automatically judge that players who are in the Iron tier do not know how to play, so if they get them in their team, they can be rude to them and harass them.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be seen that the League of Legends ranking system is relatively well made. Everyone has an equal chance to come among the elite of the League of Legends community, only if they follow the rules of the game and if they try to adopt tips and tricks that can improve their skill.
We have described nine tiers and how to collect League Points, what they are for, and what rewards you can expect if you successfully complete the season. On the other hand, we have shown the statistics for the draft ranked flex and how it differs from the solo/duo queue. You have no choice but to choose your best champion, and gather your team. Get ready to embark on this exciting adventure in which you may be one of the Challengers tomorrow.
If you’re looking to dive into the LoL world even more, here is our article on the ranked solo queue vs. ranked flex queue situation.
For more similar content, check out our guide to low priority queue in LoL.
