Wondering who to main in Overwatch 2 Season 15? With 42 possible heroes, Freja on the horizon, and all-new passive Perks, jumping into a game and picking the right character can feel overwhelming. 

Especially with the constant balance changes and evolving metas, it can be hard to keep up, with some heroes thriving while others have completely fallen off. If you’re feeling lost, don’t worry. 

That’s where our ultimate Overwatch 2 tier list comes in. We’ve broken everything down by role to help you lock in smarter picks and climb the ranks faster as we approach the end of the season.

Like many online multiplayer games, the Overwatch 2 meta shifts with every patch, buff, and nerf. These constant changes make it harder for many players to keep track of what’s working and how to get the most out of their hero pool. 

Therefore, a comprehensive Overwatch 2 hero tier list can make your choices easier, reflecting how well a hero performs in the current season’s ranked ladder and team compositions. 

This tier list for Overwatch 2 Season 15 breaks down the strongest characters to play by role – Tank, DPS, and Support – and can be applied to both Quick Play and Competitive. 

Looking for the best characters in Overwatch?

Keep in mind that any hero can win in the right hands, but some definitely make the climb easier. If you’ve got an off-meta main that’s working for you right now, don’t feel as though you have to pick from the S-tier. Play what works for you. 

Here’s a quick rundown of how these Overwatch tiers are organized: 

Our rankings are based on the most recent patch notes, pro play trends, and community performance data. They will be updated as the meta shifts and evolves, so check back often.

With over 40 heroes in the game, there are endless options for your next draft, especially when you factor in Perks. 

Explore this complete list of Overwatch characters, ranked from S-tier to D-tier based on their global performance in Season 15. 

The new Perks system in Season 15 has revitalized the DPS role, with unexpected heroes like Bastion and Torbjörn rising to the occasion.

For the first time in the game’s history, Torb is now one of the top heroes in the game, coming in with a solid 55.65% win rate across the board. Both his Major Perks buff his Turret, turning something once useless into a game-changer, now with the ability to stick to walls and become empowered. His “Fully Loaded” Perk also provides an instant reload, useful for gunning down Tanks. 

Mobility and self-sustain are the names of the game right now, as two of Bastion’s Perks, “Self-Repair” and “Armored Artillery,” keep the friendly robot going for longer, providing ways to self-heal and gain temporary overhealth. 

As always, Zarya is dominating the charts right now, oppressing every single rank with a 51.40% win rate. She has incredible solo-carry potential with her Major Perk, “Energy Lance,” which pierces enemies when she’s over 50% energy. Easily done when the enemy team constantly fires at her bubbles. 

Despite a low pick rate of around 1.30%, Sigma is arguably one of the strongest Tanks in Overwatch 2 right now. His Experimental Barrier lets him play both defensively and aggressively, and his Gravitic Flux remains one of the best teamfight ultimates in the game. 

His new “Levitation” Major Perk also addresses his weakness – mobility – letting him reach enemies on higher ground. 

Ana continues to dominate the Support charts in Season 15 with an impressive 8.55% pick rate across all ranks. Her Biotic Grenade alone can swing entire fights by denying healing and boosting her team’s sustain. With the Biotic Bounce Minor Perk, there’s even more subtle utility in her kit. 

Kiriko is still thriving in the Overwatch 2 competitive landscape with a solid 4.06% pick rate. Thanks to her new Perks, even dealing damage with her Kunai can provide a healing benefit to her allies. Players who can master min-maxing their damage and healing will easily climb the ranked ladder.  

Not sure which hero to play? Tier lists are always a great starting point, but the right pick depends on your playstyle, team comp, and the current match. 

Here are a few tips to help you make smarter picks in Overwatch 2:

Certain heroes thrive on specific maps. On maps with high-vantage points, hitscans and snipers like Widowmaker reign supreme, while Reaper thrives in tight spaces. Learn which heroes work best across Control, Escort, Push, or Hybrid maps and adapt your playstyle accordingly. 

Synergy wins games. Coordinate your team composition either in chat or voice. If your Tank opts for a dive comp with Winston or Wrecking Ball, pick DPS and Supports that can keep up, like Genji, Tracer, Lucio, or Kiriko.

Conversely, if your team’s running a slower frontline with Reinhardt, Orisa, or Sigma, go with ranged DPS like Hanzo or Ashe and Supports like Brigitte, Kiriko, or Ana. 

Don’t be afraid to swap out your hero if it’s not working. If the enemy Pharah is uncontested and steamrolling your team, switch to a hitscan like Cassidy or Ashe. Smarter counter moves can flip a losing fight on its head – sometimes even in last-minute Overtime.

It’s always fun to have a comfort pick, but especially in Competitive, flexibility wins games. Try to have at least 3–5 heroes per role you’re comfortable playing, so you can pivot based on your team and enemy matchups. 

At the end of the day, the meta will always change, but your mechanical skill, map knowledge, and ability to adapt will outlast any patch. Whether you’re grinding skill tiers in Competitive or playing casually, pick heroes that feel good to you, learn their Perks, strengths and weaknesses, and focus on improving one match at a time. That’s how you’ll climb – and actually enjoy the grind while you’re at it.

There are no hard rules on what heroes can or can’t be played in Overwatch 2, so take this Overwatch hero tier list with a pinch of salt; it’s only there as a guideline. If you want to OTP Mercy, do it. Some D-Tier heroes can still shine in certain team comps and maps; it all boils down to your individual skills, game sense, and experience. 

Have you ever wondered how VALORANT Esports works? Riot Games’ premier tactical shooter exploded into popularity as soon as it emerged on the scene five years ago, being more popular now in 2025 than ever before. There’s never been a better time to get invested in the high-stakes world of the best players, whether you want to watch intently or are considering playing at a higher level yourself. 

We’ll review the competitive structure of VALORANT’s Esports scene and thoroughly analyse the current state of the VALORANT Champions Tour and local and regional events. This includes a detailed analysis of how money, sponsorship, and broadcasting work, as well as the players who take part in it. 

For more, we recommend reading up on Esports Insider’s extensive VALORANT Esports coverage, which includes news stories and features on the competitive map pool, the teams making waves, slot allocation for tournaments, and the big changes rolling out to the title as they happen. 

VALORANT Esports is a term for the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), a global organisation operated by Riot Games with a franchise-based league that all teams participate in at the regional and international level, eventually going to the world championships. 

Riot Games selects the franchise teams it wants to play in the VCT based on how well the VALORANT Esports teams are performing. Teams must regularly compete to be eligible for selection, with most teams playing at least once a week (and often more). The winning teams from the regular season advance to the playoffs, where they can secure a spot in the international league. 

The Masters VALORANT International tournaments are where the teams compete to win Championship Points to advance further up the league table. Those with the highest points at the end of the season will play in the Champions (the global VCT finale), where only the best VALORANT teams compete for the title of World Champion. 

The VALORANT Champions Tour works across four regions: America (NA and South America), EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), the Pacific (Japan, Korea, and India), and China. 

There are 42 teams across three leagues, which is 14 teams in a league. It’s believed that there are nearly 5,000 players in the VALORANT Esports scene. 

Leo Faria is the current director of the VALORANT Champions Tour, which was founded alongside the game’s launch in 2020. However, its first event was not held until a year later, in 2021. 

Following the first event, the VCT Game Changers was launched exclusively for women and marginalised groups not traditionally part of the usual esports scene. 

In previous years, the VALORANT Esports leagues had a seven-region format. However, that’s since been simplified and streamlined to three different regions, each with its own league. This format replaced the old Challengers system, where teams competed at the domestic level to qualify for Masters and then (eventually) Champions. 

The current VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 started in March and will run until late April (or May), depending on the region. China, the Americas, the Pacific, EMEA, France Revolution, Spain Rising, LATAM North ACE, NORTH/EAST, Türkiye Birlik, DACH Evolution, MENA Resilience, Southeast Asia, WDG Korea, and Oceania are among the ongoing tournaments being held around the world. 

We can examine the Champions Tour 2025: China Stage 1 and its leaderboard to see how a regional VALORANT league works. 

It’s split into Group Alpha and Group Omega, with Chinese teams like Nova Esports, EDward Gaming, FunPlus Phoenix, Titan Esports Club, TYLOO, Bilibili Gaming, Xi Lai Gaming, Wolves Esports, Trace Sports, JD Mall JDG Esports, and All Gamers competing against each other. 

Whoever wins at the end of the first stage will advance to the second and eventually be on the board for the international events before having a shot at the Champions. 

Third-party VALORANT tournaments have cropped up in recent years to give more people the opportunity to play competitively and win cash without the needed financial backing and franchise support of the regulated teams. Some of the most well-known include Redbull Homeground, Soop VALORANT League, and Convergence 24. 

Grassroots VALORANT competitions are sometimes referred to as C-Tier Tournaments, which are the lowest-ranked events and are usually played online and with little to no high-level participation. 

Lesser-known events include Luxembourg’s POP Esports Masters, the UK’s Cyber Showdown, Germany’s Equal Esports Queens, as well as North American events such as College VALORANT, which is usually played by 16 teams across many different states. 

The Valuable prize money from these grassroots and third-party competitions is usually quite low stakes compared to the big leagues. For example, the Lockdown Arena (comprising 52 participants) has a prize pool of $1,640, and Resurrection 2025 (based in Europe) was played for a total of $1,000 and featured 55 participants. 

Progression forward depends on the starting point of origin and whether or not a team or player is sponsored at a higher level. The path from a casual player to the VALORANT Esports champion starts with the division placement based on the matchmaking rating of the top five players. 

There are six divisions: Open, Intermediate, Advanced, Elite, Contender, and Invite. By getting to this point, a team (or player) can progress forward to qualify for Challengers. 

VALORANT teams can then play in the Challengers leagues, which is the next rung on the ladder towards the VCT. The Challengers leagues are split into three major regions, where it will then be a case of coming out on top against teams in territories such as America and Europe. 

By toppling the competition, the team will be eligible to be hand-picked by Riot Games to compete in the VALORANT Champions Tour. 

The VCT is the highest level of competition on the global stage in competitive VALORANT. Instead of playing regionally, this part of the process sees teams going against each other internationally, widening the skill ceiling (and upping the prize pool) significantly. 

16 teams will then compete for the full purse. It was held throughout August in both Seoul and Incheon, South Korea. Given that millions of dollars are on the line, it’s a coveted (and difficult) dream to achieve. 

Originally, the VCT was only made up of 30 franchised teams for the league format until early 2024, with 10 more teams added afterward. These new additions are now permanently a part of Tier 1. VALORANT franchising is where a spot is purchased on the roster through partnerships, which has allowed many teams to compete at the highest level. It’s the traditional approach for Esports teams. 

In contrast, the Open VALORANT Circuit invites teams to “grind the road to pro” and has a much wider pool of teams competing for a shot at the title. 

Franchising and open circuit teams do not typically mix, as the former is backed by corporate sponsorship, deals, and advertising money compared to the scrappier nature of playing on the open circuit, which is, inherently, free-for-all. Teams include Gen.G, Sentinels, OpTicc Gaming, LOUD, Evil Geniuses, Paper Rex, Acend, Zeta Division, Team International, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Team Vikings. 

VALORANT sponsorships are one of the most important factors in the high-end side of the tactical shooter at this level, paying towards all costs associated with the high-level events. 

Some of the biggest names in VALORANT have major backing from hardware manufacturers, software companies, and other names in the gaming scene. For example, Sentinels is sponsored by Razer, Starforge System, and Zowie, whereas Fnatic is backed by Inzone, JackLinks, and Chillblast. 

The most popular sponsors are Razer (which sponsors 18 teams), Red Bull (which sponsors eight), and Oakley (which backs three). 

It’s not just gaming equipment and tech companies that are involved, as food and beverages, fashion, automobiles, and financial service providers are also involved in VALORANT Esports. 

There are no betting or gambling sponsors for competitive VALORANT, which makes it quite different from the likes of CS2 and other Esports games that are funded that way. Riot Games has strict quality control over its sponsorship policies, rejecting gambling and crypto outright. 

This has meant keeping things more advertiser-friendly, hence the larger pool of cash up from grabs at the end. Outside of sponsorship money, a major revenue stream is in-game cosmetics and streaming rights (through YouTube and Twitch). 

The VALORANT Champions Tour has raked in the better part of $40,000,000 since it was introduced in 2020 (via Esports Charts). Throughout 2025 alone to date, there’s been nearly $1,000,000 in the prize pool, comprising a $500,000 winning pot at the VALORANT Masters Bangkok and $120,000 winnings at the APAC Predator League. 

Looking back to previous years, 2024 saw nearly $9,000,000 in total winnings, with the VALORANT Champions event accounting for $2,250,000, the Masters Shanghai’s prize pot of $1,000,000, and the Masters Matrid pool of $500,000. 

The most profitable year for VALORANT Esports to date was 2023, at nearly $9,500,000. Since 2020, there’s been a 250% increase in winnings from the first year’s total pool of $2,691,955, with 2025 on track to match (or possibly exceed) this amount. 

VALORANT Esports events are viewed by an average of over one million people per event, which has steadily grown year-on-year as the prize pools have increased. 

While 2020’s events had a total peak viewer count of 692,277, the number more than doubled in the following years, with 2025 already having 1,319,067 viewers and on track to be the highest-viewed year for the game yet. 

Links to view VALORANT Esports matches can be found on its official website, with dedicated social media pages on Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok by spoken language; English, Portuguese, and Spanish are available via official channels. 

For co-streaming, Riot Games has published guidelines for anyone wanting to stream the event themselves with considerations towards the Competition, Player Safety, Politics, and Competitive Integrity. Riot Games allows for the use of a Public Event Feed and license to distribute to the casting community. 

There are more VALORANT Esports teams in 2025 than ever, with viewership increasing alongside revenue and prize pool money. More sponsorships and players will only mean a bigger and better string of events for everyone. 

Last year, Riot Games switched to prioritising regional events (bringing China into the fold), and the game is likely to explode more in this burgeoning market. 

Riot Games has published the full list of competitive policies and rules for VALORANT Esports, which covers competitive integrity and how it enforces its regulations. 

They have been regularly updated since 2022, 2023, 2024, and now 2025 with the Official Competition Ruleset outlined in a 45-page document going over the officially sanctioned equipment and peripherals, venue, competition area layout, schedule, match processes, post-match processes, pauses, bugs, exploit adjudication, travel expenses, change logs, and more. 

The biggest development for the future of VALORANT Esports is a mobile version of the game, which is expected to come out soon. Some market estimates have claimed that VALORANT Mobile could be coming out in 2025 (starting in China), but we could see a launch date in 2026 (or beyond) to be rolled out to more players. 

As a result, breaking into the cellphone market could see the game further explode in popularity and player count as its competitive scene may expand to Android and iOS instead of only PC, potentially allowing an install base of billions to get involved. 

VALORANT Esports is one of the more exciting competitive games for either a player or a viewer and has grown successfully year-on-year in terms of reach, financial backing, and user count. 

Nearly 5,000 players (and hundreds of teams) are looking to get involved through sponsorships or on the open circuit. Whether you’re an aspiring casual player looking to go pro or just an esports fan hoping to understand things better, our guide will be of help. 

Fnatic is one of the top VALORANT teams in Europe. They have a few of the most talented esports athletes in the world, so we sat down with two key team members to better understand their view of the game’s future, VCT EMEA goals, and partnership with Red Bull.

Fnatic’s Timofey ‘Chronicle’ Khromov and Kajetan ‘Kaajak’ Haremski are impressive VALORANT players with unique insight into competitive gaming. 

Below, we’ve laid out a few insights from our interview with Fnatic, so read on to gain a better understanding of the life of a top esports athlete.

VALORANT is a highly competitive video game, even outside of the esports sector. However, balancing the esports side with casual play will help retain the overall player base, and Fnatic explained why Riot Games needs to find a balance between supporting casuals and pros. They said:

“Even though the game was made with a focus on the competitive side, it might be a wrong decision; they also need to focus on casual players. I see a lot of casual players coming to VALORANT, sadly, they don’t find that much fun with this game. There will be a point when esports will not grow anymore.”

The fun factor is a key ingredient in any successful multiplayer title. If a game can’t keep players interested, fans will be even less likely to tune into esports tournaments.

Game developers are partially responsible for supporting both the casual and pro sides of multiplayer games, as the athletes of Fnatic conveyed to Esports Insider. They said:

“It’s also on Riot to make changes to the game to make it more fun to play. It’s very important to actually have fun in the game, other than just striving for competition.”

Fnatic also expressed that while the competitive side is an important part of VALORANT’s community, supporting casual gameplay will help build a stronger following in general.

“Competition is not what makes people more interested; it might be one of the factors, but it’s not only that,” they added.

Adding new game modes, events, and agents is key in keeping players active, which in turn may translate into viewership for VALORANT’s esports scene. 

Moves made by Riot Games could possibly have the biggest effect on competitive VALORANT. Otherwise, the industry won’t gain steady growth.

Fnatic believes that the upcoming VCT EMEA will offer new challenges due to the fierce competition they face. Despite hardship, Fnatic is ready to win. They said:

“We’re going to have some hard games maybe, so there’s going to be some challenges to prove ourselves that we are the best. The challenge is just to win.”

Chronicle and the other members of Fnatic’s VALORANT team will face talented opponents, like Team Heretics, in the VCT EMEA Stage 1. 

Fnatic plays to win, so Team Heretics will have some tough competition.

Fnatic partnered with Red Bull in 2025, so Esports Insider asked what the team members think about its new home. Kaajak and Chronicle expressed their appreciation for Red Bull as an energy drink that helps them stay focused in the heat of a match.

Kaajak told Esports Insider:

“It’s good because I love Red Bull, to be honest. Representing them is really good for me because Red Bull is my favorite energy drink. Also, we can drink it on the stage, so it’s just perfect.” 

In the end, Fnatic believes that Red Bull is destined to win; “It’s just all about winning, and I guess winning is Red Bull.”

Chronicle and Kaajak expressed that aspiring VALORANT athletes might find disappointment in the pro leagues due to their incredibly high bar of entry, but Fnatic also thinks that up-and-coming esports athletes should follow their dreams, as everybody’s experience is different. They said:

“Don’t be disappointed by what you actually see because it’s not as fun or as easy as people see it. But keep believing in yourself.”

Esports isn’t just about being a talented player; luck and outside factors can also determine the outcome of a competitive match, and in turn, an athlete’s career.

“It looks so easy, you just need to be good. But it’s not only about being good. When you come to this point, it can become disappointing or way too hard.”

Though Fnatic presses on in its journey to be the best, it can be difficult for new athletes to transition into the major leagues, as Chronicle and Kaajak pointed out during our interview.

Both Kaajak and Chronicle expressed their strong intent to win the VCT EMEA in 2025. 

Though the future is uncertain, Fnatic plans to give it their all and keep honing their skills. The Fnatic athletes explained that the esports scene will only grow if Riot Games continues to successfully support both the casual and competitive audiences of VALORANT.

The future is bright for Fnatic, as they host a few of the best esports players in Europe. The competition will get even fiercer in the VCT EMEA this spring, so Chronicle and Kaajak will strive to reach new heights in their esports careers.

Evo Japan 2025 will kick off next month at Tokyo’s Big Sight East Exhibition Halls with a total prize pool of ¥15m (~£79,400).

Here is everything you need to know about the first global fighting game event in this year’s Evolution Championship Series.

Evo Japan 2025 will take place from May 9th-11th, 2025. While the schedule for each game’s matches has not been announced yet, we can expect more details closer to the event’s kickoff.

A total of seven fighting game titles will be featured at Evo Japan 2025. Among the 8,648 unique attendees, Street Fighter 6 has drawn in the most player registrations with 6,536 contestants.

Here is the full list of games at Evo Japan this year:

All titles except for Street Fighter 3 and Virtua Fighter 5 will be 1v1 competitions. This will be the first Evo event in history to host 5-on-5 battle tournaments. Moreover, the final tournament will now welcome eight instead of six players.

The prize distribution for each game has also been revealed. Here is the distribution for 1v1 titles:

Meanwhile, the prize distribution for 5-on-5 tournaments varies slightly:

For English-speaking viewers, Evo Japan will be broadcast on Evo’s official Twitch and YouTube channels. Fans may also purchase venue tickets for specific days or all three days if they are attending in person. Further details can be found on the dedicated website.

The event will also feature various cosplay activities and exhibitor booths, including CAPCOM, SEGA and Red Bull Japan. In addition, side tournaments for titles such as VampireSavior and TEKKEN BALL will be held at Evo Japan.

Combo Breaker has announced the return of Wonderful Pistachios, a leading American nut brand, as the official snack partner for the second consecutive year.

Throughout the three-day fighting game festival, Wonderful Pistachios will offer free samples of its newest Dill Pickle-flavored No Shells to all attendees; however, fans can also purchase other flavors.

For fans at home, the official Twitch livestream will also feature No Shells advertisements, along with fun interaction with fans.

“New games, new flavors. COMBO BREAKER is thrilled to be a Wonderful Pistachios partner once again as @wonderfulnuts brings their latest Dill Pickle No Shells to CB2025!” Combo Breaker announced on its X (Twitter) handle.

COMBO BREAKER will celebrate its 10th anniversary from May 23rd to 25th at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Illinois. The event is expected to host over 8,000 fans and will feature popular titles, including Super Smash Bros. Melee and Ultimate, Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Mortal Kombat 1, and many more. COMBO BREAKER is now one of the longest-remaining tournament organisers headlining Smash, making it a must-attend major for many top players.

“Our second year kicks off with a bold, brand-new flavor that’s going to be a game-changer,” said Diana Salsa, Vice President of Marketing for Wonderful Pistachios. “Dill Pickle is the flavor of 2025, and consumer taste tests put it right up there with our bestsellers. It’s got the perfect punch to appeal to everyone—especially gamers looking for a tasty snack to level up with.”

Fans can purchase tickets through the official COMBO BREAKER website and choose to attend either as a competitor or spectator. Every pass includes entry into the venue, along with the following items:

Apart from Wonderful Pistachios, other confirmed partners for COMBO BREAKER 2025 include the famous fast food restaurant chain, Chipotle.

Esports host Keltoum ‘Giniro’ Baddaje and Spanish streamer David ‘TheGrefg’ Martínez are among Forbes 30 Under 30 of 2025.

According to the Forbes, the two gaming personalities are among the top young European entrepreneurs, leaders and changemakers in the world of sports and games.

Giniro is a 26-year-old on-air esports host and interviewer with several years of experience in League of Legends, VALORANT, Rainbow Six: Siege and Rocket League. Forbes states that she is the first Arabic woman to work in esports broadcasting.

“I don’t have the words to describe how honoured I feel to be part of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Class of 2025. 14-year-old me is CRYING,” shared Giniro in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The host began her career volunteering for UK’s collegiate esports league, the NUEL, and is now primarily known for her work for the LEC, League of Legends’ tier-one EMEA franchise league. However, Giniro has also received criticism from the esports community for her involvement in last year’s Esports World Cup. The esports festival is backed by the Saudi Arabian government, which has been criticised for its human rights violations.

TheGrefg is one of the most popular Spanish content creators. At 27 years of age, Grefg has grown a community of 19m on YouTube and over 12m on Twitch. His content varies between sports, lifestyle and gaming. In the gaming world, Grefg is particularly known for his Fortnite content. In 2021, his likeness was added to the game as an Icon Series Outfit.

He has also co-streamed the Kings League, which is a Spanish football league established by former player Gerard Piqué Bernabeu.

News outlet Forbes has become known for its annual ‘30 Under 30’ and ‘50 Under 50’ lists showcasing the influence and achievements of notable individuals worldwide across categories such as education, media and finance. To be featured on the lists, nominees must be acknowledged by past Forbes alumni and be chosen by a panel of expert judges.

Giniro and Grefg are not the only gaming personalities to be included in this year’s 30 Under 30 class of Europe. Riot Games’ On-air Talent Manager Nicole Constantine as well as Jessica Filby, Deputy Director at gaming media site Dexterto, were also among the 2025 alumni.

On her X account, Constantine commented: “Thank you Forbes for the honour of being selected as part of the 30 under 30 europe classe of 2025.”

While a feature in the 30 Under 30 list is considered a significant achievement in one’s career, it is not uncommon for Forbes to highlight gaming and esports personalities. For instance, the lists for 2023 and 2024 included FaZe Clan Co-Founder Yousef Abdelfattah and VALORANT pro player Melanie ‘meL’ Capone.

The lineup of modes in League of Legends doesn’t change as often as some esports games, but LoL does receive regular updates to introduce new experiences for its dedicated fan base. 

Riot Games is releasing a new mode called Brawl in the latest 25.10 Patch, and it’ll be a new dawn for casual players.

Brawl is a very different mode compared to classic League of Legends, so we’re bringing you a guide to explain how it’ll work and when you can expect to jump into the fun. Here’s everything you should know before diving into LoL’s new game mode.

Brawl is the latest experience in League of Legends. Designed as a casual, fast-paced game mode, each Brawl match only lasts around 10 minutes. In their official blog post, Riot Games made it clear that Brawl is supposed to be LoL’s equivalent of team deathmatch, in that you can jump right in and quickly understand the core mechanics.

The main goal in Brawl is to reduce the enemy team’s HP to zero. Two teams of five will start with 250 health each, while player eliminations and minion takedowns both deal varying amounts of damage. There’s no Tower or Nexus; Brawl is a mode made for simplistic combat. Unlike other game modes in League of Legends, you’ll find that Brawl isn’t based around complex strategy.

The impact that Brawl will have on the LoL community could be huge, as a new casual experience will help onboard beginners. For competitive fans, Brawl offers an opportunity to test different champions and gameplay mechanics in a relaxed environment.

Brawl’s release date: May 14, 2025

Patch 25.10 will launch alongside the new Brawl mode, which is planned to be released on May 14th, 2025. The official release date is still a month away, so the timeline could change between now and May. 

In a Reddit Q&A, Riot Games explained that Brawl will initially be a limited-time experience, lasting until Patch 25.13, which would be around six weeks.

Compared to other modes in League of Legends, Brawl is simple to understand. Each team consists of five players, and the matches last about ten minutes. There aren’t any core objectives, so strategy is less important. Brawl is the perfect opportunity to test new champions in a controlled setting.

Both teams have 250 HP by default. Player takedowns deal five damage, while eliminating a minion will deal one point. Pushing your minions into an enemy portal also deals a point of damage. The team that reaches zero HP first loses.

Luckily, the gameplay mechanics in Brawl are simple to understand. We’ve compiled a list of the core attributes for LoL’s newest mode so that you can jump straight into the action when it launches in May.

Bandle City is the map accompanying Brawl, so you’ll explore a colorful locale with a unique shape. Riot Games has described it as small but wide. You can jump back into the fun pretty quickly after a takedown, though Bandle City’s wide layout allows for multiple concurrent battles.

Each team has a Bandle Portal, and you can push your minions into the enemy portal to deal a point of damage to the opposing team. Overall, Bandle City is a tiny map, but it’s just big enough to feel open.

There are multiple ways to get power-ups in Brawl. If your team is losing, you can gain a comeback buff to deal more damage and gain extra protection. The comeback power-up is only available to players who are on the losing team, which will hopefully help prevent snowballing.

If you’re on the winning team, you’ll need to explore the camps on each side of the lane. Camps also offer gold, so it’s worth visiting them in each Brawl match. Power-ups from camps could include damage buffs or enhanced protection against the enemy team.

Modes like Summoner’s Rift and ARAM are wildly different from Brawl since the newest experience is designed for casual gameplay, not competitive matches. 

Brawl is unique in that it prioritizes the fun factor over strategy and defined objectives, so it’s perfect for beginners or any player wishing to relax.

The list below details how Brawl differs from a few of the other common game modes found in League of Legends.

Brawl mode was designed for new players and seasoned fans alike, though it’ll probably be more useful for beginners due to its low-stress gameplay and lack of strategic objectives. Riot Games has conveyed that they aimed to create a low-stakes mode where all players could enjoy a match, regardless of skill or knowledge.

Additions like the comeback buff help less-skilled teams hold their own, offering numerous chances to win even if you’re falling behind. Everybody has a fair shot in Brawl, which is exactly what Riot Games intended.

According to the official developer blog post, Brawl is an experimental mode focused on creating a fast-paced experience for beginners and pros alike. Fun is the primary objective, as opposed to the typical competitive gameplay that League of Legends is known for in 2025. The developers said: 

“We’re excited for you to jump into Brawl. Modes like this represent a newer direction for us – smaller, faster experiments that focus on fun first, not perfect polish.”

It’s evident that Brawl won’t be perfect at launch, especially for fans who enjoy hardcore gameplay. However, it’ll help transition beginners into more prominent game modes, like Summoner’s Rift.

Summoner’s Rift and other popular modes in League of Legends have dominated for years, so Riot Games is finally taking steps to implement more low-stress options. Brawl will present unique opportunities to gain a better understanding of LoL’s expansive roster since it’ll be easy to jump straight into using a new champion.

If you’re a beginner, Brawl will offer the chance to compete in a casual setting, granting your team a powerful buff whenever you fall behind the opposition. If you’ve always wanted to try League of Legends but felt too overwhelmed, this new game mode might be a good starting point.

Despite its growing popularity and cultural relevance in 2025, esports is still hard to define. The relationship between gaming and esports – where one stops and the other begins – is often murky. As a result, there are many interpretations of what counts as esports. To define what makes a video game esports material, we must go back to the basics.

Esports, or electronic sports, is sometimes colloquially referred to as competitive gaming. However, not all competitive gaming is considered esports. Despite its popularity with FPS gamers, the Titanfall franchise has never had a major esports league, for example. 

This article will dive into what makes a video game an esport and how leagues are started.

Even in video games considered esports, like League of Legends and Counter-Strike, online ranked matches played between ordinary gamers are typically not considered esports. This stands in contrast to traditional sports, where even friendly matches between amateurs are widely considered to be a sports activity.

While exact wording differs, esports is most commonly defined as organized video game competitions played for spectators. These are usually online virtual tournaments or in-person events, played for online viewers or a crowd.

However, not all games that feature competitive gameplay are considered esports titles in popular conception. Rather, the label of esports is typically reserved for games that have sustained established esports scenes surrounding them.

This usually takes the form of regular leagues, tournament circuits, or other competitions that attract large audiences. Games that get updated regularly are prime material for a new esports league, as balancing patches are essential for any multiplayer title.

Though the game itself and its popularity are both important factors in becoming an esport, the way athletes and coaches interact with fans can have a huge effect, too. Games with athletes and streamers who interact with their audiences may help increase viewership for a potential esports league.

Professor Jason Chung is a sports researcher who offered unique insight about the development of competitive video games during the Sports & Active Nutrition Summit in 2022. Chung explained that North American esports are centered around popular personalities, who may help grow the esports industry as a whole. He said:

“In North America, esports is all about gamers’ personality and how they engage their audience.”

Game industry expert Alan Chou explained how he believes esports was born in a LinkedIn post from 2019, which includes the addition of popularized story arcs for athletes and teams. He wrote:

“Established sports do a great job of painting a story arc for viewers. There is a beginning, middle, and end. There are heroes and villains, and there are ups and downs. In today’s short-form dominated media, it is harder to do storytelling in a compressed amount of time. But if done correctly, this leads to an emotional payoff at the end. People like that.”

If a community of online personalities can bring a multiplayer game to the forefront of platforms like YouTube and Twitch, viewers can easily transition between watching their favorite streamers casually and rooting for them in a competitive setting.

Minecraft allows for player-vs-player combat, which can become competitive, but Minecraft is not generally considered an esports title because the competitive scene in the game is minor. Though individually-owned servers might host the Hunger Games or other casual tournaments, this still isn’t enough to earn esports status in 2025.

Meanwhile, League of Legends is indisputably a dominant esports title as its competitive ecosystem consists of various tournaments and leagues that scale from national to global events, with some of its tier-one competitions attracting millions of spectators.

Gambling and betting, while not an essential criterion for esports, are another factor that helps solidify a game’s presence on the global stage. The most notable leagues will typically appear on esports gambling sites, which bolster their popularity.

Another common criterion is whether the video game has a core focus on competitive game modes. Counter-Strike, Dota 2, VALORANT, Street Fighter, and other leading esports titles all have competitive player-vs-player modes as their core gameplay, for which numerous popular tournaments and leagues exist. 

Nonetheless, modest esports scenes have developed around some games without competitive PvP game modes at their core.

Ultimately, the question of how big an esports scene has to be before it is considered an esports title is subjective and varies according to the whims of popular opinion. While the subjective elements above are informally agreed upon by many, the consensus of which games count as esports changes over time. 

As esports has grown as an industry and phenomenon, the concept has broadened to become more inclusive. These days, many games that are not considered esports titles are developing competitive communities of their own. 

Unconventional forms of competition, like speedrunning, are increasingly seen as esports. Speedrunners compete to complete a game or piece of in-game content in the quickest time possible. An example is World of Warcraft’s Race to World First, where players race to beat computer-controlled characters rather than each other.

Niche, not-traditionally-competitive games are developing dedicated esports communities, including Farming Simulator and even GeoGuessr. As chess is more frequently played and broadcast online, the 1500-year-old game is also increasingly seen as an esport.

Yes, esports popularity is on the rise internationally. More viewers are tuning in to each competition, especially for popular games like League of Legends and Counter-Strike. 

According to Esports Charts, the League of Legends Worlds in 2024 reached a peak viewership of 6.94 million, up from 2023’s Worlds, which reached around 6.4 million.

A near 10% increase in viewership is massive if it occurs each year. As esports grow in popularity, we may see the creation of additional leagues for less-popular competitive titles, like anime fighters and Nintendo games. Overall, esports viewership is projected to increase in 2025, so this phenomenon should only keep getting bigger.

DemandSage reported that the esports audience is expected to reach a new high of 640 million in 2025, as the total viewership has increased each year. Smaller esports leagues still retain limited viewers, but they’ll likely grow with the industry.

Technically, competitive PvP video games with significant tournament infrastructure form the core of what are considered esports titles. However, players have found ways to make almost any form of video game competitive. 

Speedruns are becoming a solid way to compete against other players, while games like League of Legends still occupy the forefront of the esports industry.

Ultimately, it is up to the fan bases that surround each game to decide whether it meets esports criteria, but organizers also need to be involved for new leagues to gain popularity. 

Many more games may be considered esports in the future, but for now, they are generally titles that have a large multiplayer scene for solo or team-based competition.

Very few things embody the love/hate relationship that esports players have with game developers more than patch notes. 

Every time a big update comes to a competitive title, some players rejoice, as it may be fixing a problem they find particularly troublesome, while some get infuriated because a beloved character, item or ability is not the same as it was before. Meta changes, strategy shifts and roster rebalancing are all a big strain on a player’s mental load, leading often to frustration and possibly burnout.

Fighting games are a prime example of this dynamic. Professional players usually main one or two characters, which means that they know every move, every combo and every possible situation that the character can find themselves in throughout a match. When the developers introduce something new or change parameters to balance the game, one or two characters can become much more viable in the new metagame, and so those who main him can find more success.

If a character stays in a dominant position long enough, it could become the new frontier for learning and mastering, like Luke was in the first year of Street Fighter 6. 

“When I looked at the patch notes of the first big update to the game,” Wong ‘Chris Wong’ Yuk-cheung told Esports Insider at the Red Bull Kumite, “I knew I had to work on Luke because everyone was going to be using him.”

It could be a single ability of a character in a fighting game or a MOBA, a weapon in a shooter, the number of frames an ability is in effect, or even the layout of a map in tactical games like VALORANT. When the devs change something, the competitive player base has to get to work to stay updated. 

In recent years, being prepared for the arrival of patch notes has caused its fair share of burnout in the competitive scene, so different approaches have started to emerge on both the developers’ and players’ sides.

The majority of the developers release the patch notes of an upcoming update a few weeks before launch, so players have time to theorycraft, test and experiment. These notes can come in a variety of levels of specificity: from Blizzard’s detailing changes down to the fraction of a second of a cooldown, to Marvel Rivals’ more general buffs and nerfs. 

The publication of these patch notes usually leads to frantic testing in each community to optimise strategy and find what works best with the new changes. The stories of burnout following a big update are not hard to find in forums and Discords, as the pressure to arrive with abundant knowledge at a competition is always high.

Sometimes, in the case of League of Legends, for example, there are so many updates that a competition needs to specify on which patch each stage will be conducted on, leading to players training on out-of-date versions of the game because the newest patch will not be featured in the tourney.

The Pokémon Company, on the other hand, has a completely different approach: when something changes, only the Pokémon or the specific move affected are mentioned; no numbers, no percentages, only if it’s a buff or a nerf. This practice is both beloved and hated by players because it leads to a lot of testing but also allows for secrets to be kept among teams and friend groups to gain an advantage in battle.

Patching a game is fundamental to ensure fairness, competitiveness and to shake things up when matches at the highest level have become too similar to one another. Sometimes, however, devs intervene in a game to pull it closer to the playerbase. The most recent example of this is the incoming anti-lane-swapping rules of League of Legends. 

This series of punitive drawbacks targeted at support players that roam a little too much in the jungle at the highest levels of play has one specific objective: “Bring the sport as close as possible to the players’ experience,” League of Legends Producer Chris ‘Auberaun’ Roberts said in a recent developer presentation. In practice, the pros are using tactics that the developers deem not-replicable by the audience so they have decided to limit them.

Patch notes have also sparked intense uproar from communities, leading developers not to release entire updates or walk some of them back very fast. Marvell Rivals’ Season 1 was supposed to have a mid-season rank reset, but the outcry from players was so loud that developers changed course within 24 hours of releasing the patch notes.

Whether they love them or hate them, pro players have to face the patch notes of their favourite game. Sometimes there will be joy (the video of the popular Overwatch streamer Flats rejoicing after a particularly hated character got a deserved nerf is still viral on TikTok), but sometimes there will be a total ruination of a game, like what’s happening with the second season on Tekken 8. 

Overall, most players prefer having them as it gives them the chance to not get blindsided at their next big event. Ideally, a game changing patch should arrive once or twice a year, so pros have time to adjust, some games, however, have a much tighter schedule opting for more, smaller updates. This has proven to be a stressful strategy for athletes and teams but is the most efficient to root out unbalanced interactions and exploits.