League of Legends is one of the most competitive esports games, and some may wonder what the threshold is to be considered good in the rankings.
One of the most heated topics League of Legends can get into is what ranks are considered good in the game. After all, League of Legends divides the players into ten ranking tiers. These don’t just signify the progress players have made. The rankings also group players into similar skill levels for matchmaking purposes. The most populated rank by percentage is Bronze, which accounts for more or less 20% of the player base as of July 2024 according to League of Graphs. Most players, especially casuals, will likely hit Gold as their ceiling, and the percentages start to drop off in higher ranks.
But when do League of Legends players actually become good in the eyes of the community?
Riot considers Diamond and above the highest-skilled ranks, making Diamond 4 the first good rank in League of Legends.
In July 2023, Riot responded to player concerns over the ranking system. Skilled players felt the system grouped them too often with lower-skilled players. Other players noted the opposite, feeling overranked as they fought players well above their skill level. To bridge the gap between Platinum and Diamond players, Riot introduced the Emerald tier. The rank initially debuted in League of Legends: Wild Rift before finally arriving in the main game. Riot hoped the Emerald tier would host a similar number of players to Diamond.
While some cynical players noted the Emerald rank felt like “artificial inflation.” Others appreciated the change to matchmaking. Players struggling in the game welcomed a tangible reward for their progress. Many have jokingly called Emerald rank the new “Elo hell,” a moniker that once belonged to low Platinum.
With the addition of Emerald, however, it begs the question of how many players make it to the highest tier in League of Legends, Challenger.
Only 0.03% of players make it to Challenger rank in League of Legends, making it extremely rare.
For context, Riot revealed in 2021 that League of Legends boasted 180 million monthly players. The number likely hasn’t changed significantly given League of Legends’ success. That means only around 50,000 players ever make it to the Challenger ranks.
Some may wonder why the rank is called Challenger. Riot considers these ranked players challengers for professional play. Of the 50,000 Challenger players, less than 10,000 make it into the unofficial “League of Legends” tier.
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