In LoL, ranks are everything. Be it for the bragging rights, for the achievement, or to become a pro, gaining LP and climbing the ladder is the essence of League of Legends. However, the LoL ranks have changed over the history of the game and so has their distribution. In this article, we break down all LoL ranks in order and the ranked system in general.
In League of Legends, all players get a rank that goes up and down alongside their wins and losses in ranked games. Their place in the ladder consists of a tier and a division within it. (Ranked queues only become available upon reaching Summoner Level 30).
When they win, a player receives League Points (LP). Upon reaching 100 LP, they promote to the higher division. Each tier has 4 divisions (from IV to I, with IV being the lowest). When a player reaches 100 LP in division I, they move up to the higher tier.
Inversely, losing when at 0 LP can demote the player to the lower division or tier. Reaching a new tier grants a shield that prevents demotion for 10 games (3 games only in Master).
The animation for promoting to the higher LoL rank. Image Source: Riot Games
Each League player has a hidden value called Matchmaking Rating (MMR). This value exists in all queues and is a measure of the level of the player. When queuing for a game, the matchmaking attempts to find 10 people that have a similar MMR to create a fair game.
The MMR is based on a variation of the ELO system from chess, and it functions differently from the LP. There is no way to accurately find someone’s matchmaking rating. Sometimes, a player’s MMR may be higher or lower than their displayed rank.
When a player’s hidden rank differs from their displayed rank, the game will try to make them reach their hidden rank faster. This means that if someone has a higher MMR than their rank, they will have increased LP gains and reduced LP losses – at the exchange of tougher opponents. The same goes both ways: if someone has a low MMR, they’ll gain less and lose more League Points.
In 2026, a player can only gain or lose between 10 and 30 LP per ranked game. When reaching 100 LP, all points gained in excess carry over to the next division.
As of 2026, there are 10 tiers in League of Legends. The LoL ranks in order are:
The LoL ranks in order. Image Source: Riot Games
Master, Grandmaster and Challenger make up the Apex tiers, which function differently from the rest of the ladder. In Apex, the tiers no longer have divisions. Instead, players start with 0 LP in Master, then collect as much LP as possible with no maximum.
Upon reaching a high enough position in Master, a player becomes Grandmaster and keeps their LP. The same happens from Grandmaster to Challenger. In Challenger, it’s all about who gets the most LP!
Apex players reach a higher tier upon reaching the top X of players. The number varies between the servers and queues (based on the server’s population). A player needs a minimum of 200 LP to reach Grandmaster, and 500 LP for Challenger.
The number of available slots in Grandmaster and Challenger are as follows:
| Region | Number of Grandmaster / Challenger slots in Solo / Duo Queue | Number of Grandmaster / Challenger slots in Ranked Flex | Number of Grandmaster / Challenger slots in TFT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe West | 700 / 300 | 500 / 200 | 400 / 200 |
| North America | 700 / 300 | 100 / 50 | 500 / 250 |
| Korea | 700 / 300 | 500 / 200 | 600 / 300 |
| China (Main servers) | 700 / 300 | N/A | 900 / 450 |
| Vietnam | 700 / 300 | N/A | 900 / 450 |
| Philippines | 700 / 300 | N/A | 40 / 20 |
| Europe Nordic and East | 500 / 200 | 100 / 50 | 200 / 100 |
| Brazil | 500 / 200 | 500 / 200 | 100 / 50 |
| Other South American servers | 500 / 200 | 100 / 50 | 60 / 30 |
| Other major Eastern Asian servers | 500 / 200 | N/A | 100 / 50 |
| Minor servers | 100 / 50 | 100 / 50 | 40 / 20 |
The divisions in the LoL ranks. Image Source: Riot Games
| Rank | Percentage of players at the end of 2025 | Percentage of players at the beginning of 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Iron | 12.80% | 1.70% |
| Bronze | 16.44% | 20.36% |
| Silver | 22.24% | 26.65% |
| Gold | 22.06% | 24.31% |
| Platinum | 13.99% | 15.62% |
| Emerald | 9.48% | 7.42% |
| Diamond | 2.42% | 2.93% |
| Master | 0.51% | 0.87% |
| Grandmaster | 0.017% | 0.05% |
| Challenger | 0.0074% | 0.02% |
Note that early and late season ranks don’t work the same way, so differences in the stats were to be expected.
Riot did make actual changes to the LoL ranks distribution in 2026, though. The ladder will be slightly more top-heavy than in the last years, and these changes to Iron and Bronze are part of that.
When first playing ranked, a player will be given a provisional rank based on their normal games MMR. Over their first 5 games, they will have massively increased LP gains and no LP losses. These gains are capped at 100 LP per game, and a player can not go over Diamond III during their placements.
The higher tiers in League of Legends have inactivity LP decay in order to force players to remain active, to prevent an empty population at the highest ranks. Only players ranked diamond and above decay.
After a certain number of days without playing, the LP decay kicks in, every day. Playing games fills the number of days before inactivity penalties take place. The LP decay will result in demotion when taking the player below 0 LP.
| Rank | Number of days banked per game | Maximum days to bank | Days banked upon reaching the tier | LP decay per inactive day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond | 7 | 28 | 28 | 50 |
| Master / Grandmaster / Challenger | 1 | 14 | 10 | 75 |
Generally speaking, people can play with a duo that’s within one tier of them, with stricter restrictions at the higher ranks. In Flex queue, the restrictions are looser.
| Rank | Ranks eligible to queue with (in Solo/Duo queue) | Ranks eligible to queue with (in Flex queue) |
|---|---|---|
| Iron | Iron / Bronze / Silver | Silver to Diamond |
| Bronze | Iron / Bronze / Silver | Silver to Diamond |
| Silver | Iron / Bronze / Silver / Gold | Silver to Diamond |
| Gold | Silver / Gold / Platinum | Silver to Diamond |
| Platinum | Gold / Platinum / Emerald | Silver to Diamond |
| Emerald | Platinum / Emerald / Diamond IV-II | All |
| Diamond IV – Diamond II | Emerald II-I / Diamond IV-II | All |
| Diamond I | Diamond I / Master | All |
| Master | Diamond I / Grandmaster | Emerald to Challenger |
| Grandmaster | Master / Grandmaster / Challenger | Emerald to Challenger |
| Challenger | Grandmaster / Challenger | Emerald to Challenger |
Players with Master-tier MMR are subject to the Master-tier restrictions, even if their displayed tier is lower.
The LoL ranks that can play together in Ranked Flex. Image Source: Riot Games
Currently, LoL ranks reset at the start of each season. This is a soft reset, meaning that each player’s rank is erased but their MMR is moved towards the player base’s average. Everyone then gets to play their placement matches again for the season.
Don’t miss: League of Legends champions tier list (current meta)
Featured Image Source: Riot Games
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