League of Legends has been around for over a decade, and to this day, it is one of the most popular esports titles in the industry. Millions of fans from all around the world tune in daily to watch their favourite teams compete in different tournaments and competitions. With this guide in hand, you’ll learn everything about how to watch LoL esports online, no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
As esports keeps developing into the massive business that it is today, so are the opportunities to watch LoL esports live streams. Today, you can watch esports on tv from the comfort of your home, or via a computer or phone screen, all available to you for free. There are several ways to watch League of Legends online free and we’re going to mention all of them as we delve a bit deeper.
Watch LoL Esports on Twitch
It’s undeniable that Twitch has become the number one streaming platform where almost every gaming tournament is being broadcast. The platform has grown into a massive giant, and today there seems to be no competition in sight, leaving Twitch in a very comfortable state.
If you’re a fan of the game and involved in League of Legends live betting, then Twitch will most likely be your first stop. Not only will you find plenty of professional LoL players streaming their matches in League of Legends live, but you’ll also find the official Riot Games Twitch channel where they stream all of their big LoL tournaments, including LoL Worlds.
To watch LoL esports on Twitch, you need to create a free account on Twitch and you’re good to go. However, you can still enjoy watching LoL esports even without an account. Still, you won’t be able to participate in the live chat interactions, which is one of the main advantages of watching LoL esports on Twitch. You can cheer your team and share your positive vibes with thousands of others who are watching the same LoL esports stream as you.
While Twitch is the most popular streaming option for most League of Legends fans – there’s more. It isn’t just the site for watching the best League of Legends players in the world.
Watch LoL Esports on YouTube
Much like Twitch, YouTube also supports live streaming, and you can find almost any current LoL live streams tournament also being broadcast on YouTube. This option is very suitable for the more casual fans of League of Legends. You will also find the live stream of LoL Worlds if you bet on the major annual event, so this platform is an answer when trying to figure out where to watch LoL.
You can watch League of Legends online for free on YouTube, and you’ll enjoy quality entertainment similar to Twitch. The difference here is that you can rewind parts of the stream in case you missed something. If you missed the entire match, you can always find a multitude of YouTube clips and videos of the biggest highlights of that match, so this is a perfect solution if you’re looking for bite-sized League of Legends content and don’t have time to watch the entire stream on Twitch. While Twitch does have VODs that pretty much serve the same purpose, YouTube is still a bit more convenient in this regard.
The Riot Games YouTube channel also serves as a League of Legends tv channel, and here you’ll find the latest LoL news, trailers, events, and much more, all sorted neatly into different Playlists, making it really easy to browse through.
While Twitch and YouTube will provide more than enough options to watch esports, there’s still one more place you’ll want to visit, and that’s Riot’s LoL Esports page.
LoL Esports – The Riot Games League of Legends TV Channel
Many people enjoy watching esports online without actually playing that specific game, and that goes for LoL live streaming as well. Some of the fans may have quit the game a while ago, but their passion for LoL esports still burns bright. Or perhaps they decided to take a break and plan on returning back to the game, but in the meantime, they still follow their favourite teams in LoL.
LoL Esports is the best option for those who are still actively playing the game and following all the relevant LoL tournaments.
So, how to watch esports on the LoL Esports website? It’s actually very simple. In order to watch League of Legends online free through the website, you just have to log in with your Riot Games account. That’s it.
Now, this is where it gets interesting. Twitch may have the best chat interaction, and YouTube has bite-sized clips and highlights, but what does Riot’s LoL Esports site have? It’s the in-game goodies.
This esports TV channel has, what’s called, Drops. Drops are specific in-game rewards that players can claim during live streams while logged into the website. These come in the form of emotes, exclusive icons, and all kinds of other loot. To access this, all you have to do is visit the official League of Legends website, click on the Esports tab, and that will take you to LoL Esports. Here you can check the Rewards section and see what potential items you can receive during streams.
Watch League of Legends Online Free
To make things even easier to keep track of, Riot Games will often post news in their LoL Esports news section, providing details about all the items that can be received and clarifying which match will drop which item. It may sound confusing at first, but in reality, it’s a very simple system that works like a charm. In short, if you’re logged in and watching the stream – you’ll get your rewards.
The reason we called the LoL Esports website Riot’s League of Legends TV Channel is the fact they have everything in one spot. You have the LoL esports schedule, live streams, and VODs where you can check out all the matches you previously missed, the standings, news, and of course, the rewards. It’s everything a fan of LoL wants, and all in one single place. It’s very convenient, and probably much better than both Twitch and YouTube combined, but this website is mostly visited by the active League of Legends players.
Casual fans of LoL esports oftentimes follow many other esports titles, so they frequent Twitch and YouTube much more than they do the LoL Esports site.
Overall, if you want to watch LoL esports, there are plenty of options for everybody. Whether you’re a casual fan that checks in from time to time, or a die-hard LoL fan, you’ll find something that suits you with these three options. Whatever you pick, you’ll have a great time watching League of Legends action live.
There’s a lot that’s going on in the game of League of Legends. For a newer viewer, it’s easy to get lost in the midst of the action and colourful ability effects. Luckily, LoL has a fairly comprehensive HUD and—once you get used to it—you’ll be able to easily understand what’s happening on the screen.
What do I Need to Watch LoL Esports?
To watch all the League of Legends tournaments 2023 has to offer, you will need a device and there are many that qualify, such as a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. You also need a stable internet connection, since streaming live games requires a stable internet connection to avoid buffering or lag.
Next, you will need to access a platform or website that is streaming the games you want to watch. Examples include Twitch, YouTube, Riot Games’ official website, and the official websites of regional leagues. Speaking of this, you can watch LoL esports for all the major regions, as well as the two main international events:
- LCK live stream
- LCS live stream
- LEC live stream
- LPL live stream
- MSI live stream
- LoL Worlds live stream
League of Legends fans and players who want to learn how to watch LoL games, should know that a media player is also needed. Your device should have a media player installed to be able to watch the live streams, such as VLC, Quicktime, Windows Media Player or others.
If you are watching on a computer, you can use a browser such as Google Chrome or Firefox. If you are watching on a mobile device, you will need to download the appropriate app for the platform you are using. Optionally, when travelling abroad and streaming on a platform that is not available in your location, you can use a VPN to access the platform.
You may also want to consider following commentators, analysts, and casters, who provide expert insights and analysis of the games. This can help you understand the strategies and tactics being used and make the matches more enjoyable to watch.
Understand the LoL HUD while watching live matches online
There’s a lot that’s going on in a League of Legends’ game. For a newer viewer, it’s easy to get lost in the midst of the action and colorful ability effects. Luckily, LoL has a fairly comprehensive HUD and—once you get used to it—you’ll be able to easily understand what’s happening on the screen.
Spectator HUD Breakdown
We’ve prepared an image that will help you understand LoL spectator interface.
As you can see, there’s a total of 22 UI elements, so let’s run through all of them:
- Team Names represent the lineups that are taking part in the current match.
- Match Score shows how many wins each team has.
- Timer displays how far into the game you are at the moment.
- Team Gold is how much gold each lineup has. Gold is the most important resource that lets you observe the state of the game. As a rule of thumb, a team that’s ahead in gold usually has the upper hand.
- Kill Count shows how many kills each team has. While having more kills is a decent indicator of who’s winning the fights, it doesn’t always accurately represent a team’s strength.
- Turret Count lets you see how many turrets each team destroyed. A lineup that took down the most turrets has more freedom to move around the map and is that much closer to reaching the enemy Nexus.
- Dragon Count displays the number and the types of the Elemental Drakes that a team has secured.
- Next Drake icon shows what type of dragon you can expect to spawn in the nearest future.
- Objective Timer lets you know when the next crucial objective is going to spawn. In our example, the objective is Baron Nashor.
- Elder Dragon Buff shows which team has slain an Elder Dragon recently and has a stat boost for the upcoming teamfights. When a team has the buff, the icon lights up.
- Minimap is a smaller copy of the game’s battleground, which you can use to track the teams’ movements.
- K/D/A represents how many kills, deaths, and assists each player has. Usually, you want your kills and assists to be as high as possible while limiting the amount of deaths.
- Creep Score displays how many minions a champion has slain. Since every minion grants gold, it’s a good indicator of how rich a certain champion is.
- Item Builds show what items a champion has at the moment.
- Champion Icons display which champion are in the game.
- Health/Mana Bars let you see how much health and mana champions have.
- Level shows the current level of every champion.
- Ultimate icons display whether a champion’s ultimate—his most powerful spell—is available at the moment.
- Summoner Spell icons do the same thing but for a champion’s summoner spells.
- Keystones show which keystone mastery a champion has in this game.
- Champion Info has detailed information on the champion that’s currently being observed including his health, mana, skill point allocation, and summoner spells.
- Player Cam displays the feed from each team’s player cameras.
Understanding what different HUD elements is key to spectating League of Legends. It might seem overwhelming at first but after watching a few matches, you’ll be able to tell the state of the game at a single glance. You just have to know where to look.
