Welcome, gamers, to the age of professional Esports. Ever since Halo 2 graced the gaming community with the action-packed online multiplayer experience we still love today, competitive gaming kept spreading its roots outside the borders of split-screen and into our consoles, PCs, and smartphones.
Over the past decade, competitive gaming has evolved into a global phenomenon known as esports. What once started as small, localized competitions has now transformed into a multi-billion-dollar industry, with massive international tournaments like “The International” for Dota 2 and the “League of Legends World Championship” drawing in millions of viewers. Esports has reached mainstream appeal with professional teams, sponsorships, and dedicated leagues, boosting gaming into a legitimate competitive sport.
The esports ecosystem is vast and includes not only players and teams but also tournament organizers, sponsors, media outlets, and streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Events like “DreamHack” and “ESL One” provide opportunities for professional players to showcase their talents. Meanwhile, content creators and streamers bridge the gap between casual fans and the professional scene, often building the platform where players learn the intricacies of their favorite game.
While it may seem like all fun and games, competitive gaming demands a unique set of skills. Players need quick reflexes, strong hand-eye coordination, and strategic thinking to excel. Mental toughness is also critical, as players must remain calm under pressure and maintain focus during long, high-stakes matches. In team-based games like League of Legends and Valorant, communication and teamwork are just as important as individual performance.
LoL as a Pioneer in Esports
League of Legends has played a key role in the growth of esports over the last fifteen years. Released in 2009 by Riot Games, LoL has become one of the most popular competitive games worldwide. It was one of the first games to introduce a structured esports league, the League of Legends Championship Series (or LCS), and has a thriving international scene with events like the Mid-Season Invitational and the World Championship.
What is League of Legends?
League of Legends is a team-based strategy game commonly called a MOBA. In this type of game, two teams of five players aim to destroy the heart of the opposing team’s base, called the Nexus. Each player controls a champion with unique abilities and plays a specific role (Top, Jungle, Mid, ADC, or Support). LoL relies heavily on objective-focused gameplay, demanding both strategy and individual skill.
One of the defining features of League of Legends is its ever-changing meta, driven by frequent balance patches from Riot Games. These patches adjust champion stats, change the available items, and boost several gameplay mechanics, leading to shifts in strategies and champion preferences among the community.
Valorant’s Triumphant Entrance
This leads us to Valorant. In 2020, Riot Games released Valorant, their second major IP, which quickly established itself as a titan of the Esports world. The game’s mix of tactical first-person shooting and unique agent abilities sets it apart from other FPS games. Riot’s experience with managing LoL’s competitive scene helped Valorant thrive, with tournaments like the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) drawing the gaming world’s attention very effectively.
Valorant is a tactical shooter in which two five-player teams face off in rounds. Players choose an agent, each with distinct abilities that provide utility in combat. The objective varies based on the mode, but in the most popular mode, one team attacks and tries to plant a spike, while the other defends. This game mode is reminiscent of Counter Strike’s basic game mode. As with LoL, teamplay is key in Valorant.
How to Climb the Ranks in LoL and Valorant
Whether you’re playing League of Legends or Valorant, mastering the fundamentals is key to climbing the ranks. In LoL, this means understanding last-hitting, positioning, wave management, and map awareness. In Valorant, it’s about improving aim, recoil control, movement, and learning the maps. The better your grasp of these basics, the more effective you’ll be in games.
One of the most common tactics involves a combination of practice and VODs (or live streams). Watching a professional player is as helpful, if not more, as playing yourself. As with everything else in life, learning from someone else’s experience can be a huge boost to one’s skills, and this scenario fits LoL and Valorant like a glove.
Maintaining a healthy mindset is essential for long-term success. Climbing the ranks requires consistent practice, but it’s important to focus on improvement rather than obsessing over your rank. Players who maintain a growth-oriented mindset are more likely to stay motivated and continue progressing, while those fixated on short-term rank gains may become frustrated and plateau.
Communication is one of the most important aspects of ascending the ranks. In team-based games, clear and constructive communication can turn the tide of a match. Calling out enemy positions in Valorant or alerting teammates of missing enemies in League can prevent disasters and set up successful plays.
Elo Boosting in League of Legends and Valorant
As each ranked season ends, LoL and Valorant’s player ranks get consistently reset. This fundamental mechanic builds replayability for these games, but, at the same time, it causes frustration for players who don’t appreciate the constant demand for more in-game time.
That’s where the Elo Boost solution comes in as the most effective way to increase your rank in Valorant and League of Legends. Most players don’t appreciate playing in lower ranks that do not match their skill and therefore end up hiring a player to do it for them, as to invest less personal time into the game. After their account reaches their desired rank, the Valorant or LoL Elo Booster returns it, and the player continues their journey from the rank where they left it off in the last season, or even a couple of ranks above.
These are just a few of the ways you can climb the ranks in League of Legends or Valorant.