League of Legends is THE competitive game. The proscene's main event has won the best esports event of the year every year since 2018, and only since then because it was the first year the award was given. Riot Games has been proven repeatedly to be the only company that can run a professional esports league in a profitable long-term way for both the players and the organizations partaking in this massive endeavour. Even though a lot of the teams are not profitable yet there are some who net a nice income already.
Its competitiveness is largely fueled by a massive demographic base of over 130 million monthly users. To put this in context, Steam, the largest online gaming shop, has 120 million monthly active users. If you want to discover more about how the LoL population increased, go here. The game's enormous popularity stems largely from the idea that, in principle, anybody can become the next Faker and launch a career as a multimillion-dollar celebrity recognized by the whole community. So who's the greatest among so many?
Let's' start with a little bit of LoL History. League launched in 2010 and already has a global championship tournament in its first year. The game originally acquired popularity in North America and Europe, and many of the early proplayers are now well-known and often extremely wealthy. To name a few, Reginald, owner of TSM, Doublelift, Pobelter, and Imaqtpie, all began their careers at a young age and is still well-known or participating in the community in some manner.
You didn't come here to find out who made the most money in League of Legends. Some of these personalities are not ones that many people would wish to be because of their history, which frequently entails toxic environments that they encouraged. So, what makes a top League of Legends player?
Many argue that it must be the players who have won the most titles, but it is not that easy. Some players are so well-known that it would be a disgrace not to acknowledge them. To mention one, Dopa, a famed ex-booster turned streamer who was never permitted to become a pro owing to his boosting background, is now regarded as one of the most important and iconic gamers ever. Certainly he is the one who can carry games like a beast. We highly recommend a separate article about Dopa he is truly one of the kind even though has no experience on international stage, but the legendary status he holds in minds of the players is still there even after retirement for his military service which should end sometime in 2025.
To make sure we give respect where it's due, we divided our list into four different categories:
Don't have time to read the entire thing? Don't bother our TLDR list is right here.
The best overall LoL players of all time are:
Want to learn more about them? Read more for short trivia about each player.
The number of prestigious awards one has earned is not the measure of success. After all, you may still define the scene for a while domestically and globally, even if you don't have the ideal timing, squad, or meta to show yourself properly in tournaments. You could shape the game's direction for a while and dominate the game and earn a spot on our list.
Faker - is by far the most popular player in the history of LoL. Since his debut in 2013, shortly after turning 17, he's been recognized as the best mid-laner. He is most known for his Nidalee, Gragas and Zed. Perhaps the most iconic moment in history that coined his name was this Zed play against Ryu in the world championship deciding game. 
Dopa - is a streamer who was never allowed to go pro due to a fan girl spilling the beans and providing enough evidence of him boosting to get him permanently banned from competitive League of Legends. For years, Dopa was recognized as the 2nd or 1st best player along with Faker. One of the moments that put him in the spotlight is his stream versus a 650LP challenger fizz who auto-attacked a minion. At that moment, Dopa famously said: "Laning phase is over; he lost". He's known for his foresight, analytical approach to the game, little to no mistakes made during the laning phase, and an ability to snowball that lead all over the map with his highly mobile global champions such as Kassadin, Twisted Fate and Corki. 
Mata was mainly known for his Thresh, but many do not know that he was the first to be called the only support player who played RTS instead of League of Legends. His macro was so good that he was shot-calling for his entire team and typing even in soloq to his teammates what to do and their next objectives. He could do that because he reached the Korean challenger with every position and had a vast knowledge of every champion and their objectives in-game.
Doinb - to some, he's now more known for his streams and leaks than for his gameplay, but in his prime, he was a revolutionary and fairly not known mid laner for the FPX squad who won the League of Legends world championship finals in a huge upset back in 2019 against G2. Right now, he's the biggest eastern streamer and pulls in thousands of views each stream. 
Caps - the only hope of the west is a mid laner who first debuted in FNC and then moved to G2. They had multiple miracles runs for a world championship title and won a huge pile of trophies from MSI and LEC. He's known for his aggressive roaming playstyle. Caps is by far the most titled western player. We are expecting him to lift a worlds trophy at some point. He has an amazing game sense and is known to play almost any possible champion. For example, in the 2023 Winter Split, he played Zac in mid-lane. 
Doublelift - might stand out from some of this list. He has no international successes, but the number of his domestic titles is unparalleled. He has won the most LCS titles from any individual player, and it's been memed that any team who will acquire him can count on at least 1 LCS title when he's on the team. He is the best NA player of all time; for that alone, he deserves a spot on this list. We've collected a list of players who formerly dominated their positions and established new benchmarks for their positions. Those who have broken through to a previously uncharted meta-level. When it comes to being a steady presence in the middle lane, Faker is an excellent role model. Obviously South Korean players dominate this list due to lol esports popularity there.
Faker - Is omnipresent on our list, and for a good reason. He has been among the best mid laners for so long that people use his name as a compliment. Since joining T1, he has been on the key player and it's his ONLY team, and they have won 4 world championships and missed only one. He has plenty of LCK championship titles and also holds with his team the longest win streak of 26 wins from Spring 2022. He has just recently won World Championships in 2023. Popularly known as unkillable demon king.
Bengi - is the jungler who helped Faker win his Worlds Championship title three times. He's now a Head Coach for T1 and helps to train the squad to take another worlds trophy. They were very close the previous year in 2022 and missed it only by one game with DRX in the finals. Too many newer viewers, he might not be as well known because he stepped down from the SKT T1 squad in 2017, but for those who have been around at the time, it's obvious Bengi is the best jungler who ever stepped on the professional stage. 
BeryL - to many, he might not be as well known as others on the list. You might haven't even noticed that the 2022 worlds title were a second win for this player. He's an extremely versatile player who won first with DWG in 2020 and then with DRX in an upset win versus T1 in 2022. He is known for his aggressive playstyle with Pyke and Heimerdinger. Want to learn more about his early game playstyle? Check video of one of our favorite league youtubers: 
Ruler - has won Worlds only once compared to the first three players on the list; it might not mean much, but he has been at the top of the competition for years. He has participated in numerous international tournaments and has a few domestic titles in his trophy case. Most associated with a GenG squad that won worlds in 2017. He's also well-known for his amazing kiting mechanics, dominant laning, and team fight effectiveness. Just look at these mechanics on Ashe: 
TheShy - similar to Ruler, has only one Worlds title. However, he has been a dominant force in the top lane for quite some time. His nickname bears a lot of weight. Native to Korea, he quickly moved to China to Invictus Gaming and was on the first Chinese team to find international success and win the world stage title. He's most well known for his aggressive playstyle and mechanics that allow him to carry the games even when he's playing weakside and starting 0-3. His featured picks are Aatrox, Jayce, Fiora, Vladimir and Akali. Caps - is the only western player featured on this list, and for a good reason. Since season 2, no western team has won the Worlds Championship tournament. Caps is the only player who has come close not once but at least three times. He is part of the original G2 squad that lost to FPX in the finals. A player who seems to be only one step behind true greatness, we are sure that there is still a bright future ahead of him.We have repeatedly seen that players who can "flex" champions and, in some cases, roles are more valuable to their teams as the game develops. Summoner's Rift afterall rewards flexibility. Because of the importance of drafting in the competitive scene, having an advantage over your opponents is crucial if you want to win. This is one of the most difficult abilities a professional may have. Just a few players seem to have access to an infinite champion pool, while the rest of the community is constrained to playing only 2-4 mainstay selections at any given meta.
Keria - is a young player but an absolutely mad lad. He has already proven to be one of a kind player. He's at the beginning of his professional career but already has plenty of experience. He's a support player for T1 and has already played almost every ADC in a support role and Yasuo as a carry. . This is truly unique, especially on top of his performance on meta enchanter supports. Just take a look at this pick. 
Peanut - debuted as a Nidalee hyper-aggressive ROX tigers jungler; since then, he has gone through a few teams and has adapted his playstyle to include tank junglers. It's quite rare for junglers to be able to play both supporting, ganking and tank playstyles. He has often carried games with his pocket picks; for example, he's known for his Poppy gameplay.
Perkz - is one of the few players who played league on one position and then moved to a different one to make a spot for someone else. He recruited Caps to G2 and moved to an ad carry role from MID to make room for him. They even got to the worlds finals with this squad. Eventually, it ended badly, but for someone who adapted in a year to a completely different champion pool and role, he deserves to be on our list.Faker - Can play any champion. Don't believe us? Have you been around when someone picked Irelia mid versus Faker, and he just pulled out Olaf mid and decimated him? If you weren't, check out this. Doinb - in his 2019 miracle run with FPX, completely changed the meta by pulling out tanky champions such as Nautilus. This versatility single handedly won them a Worlds Championships titleIn essence, it's not enough to have incredible statistics or a long list of championships to call yourself the finest player in the world. Several aspects, including meta dominance, adaptability, fan perception, and overall accomplishments, go into deciding who the best lol player ever is.
Without a doubt, the greatest league player of all time is Faker, who not only appears on all four of our rankings but also holds the record for the most appearances in the League of Legends World Championships and the most World Championship championships overall.
Please tell us what your list would look like and whether you agree with ours in the comments section below.
Check out the included videos that feature the play of a few of our featured players, and if you believe we missed anyone, please let us know.
