League of Legends Seasons: All Start and End Dates
UPDATE (May 5, 2026): New season dates were added in this update.
League of Legends has operated on a seasonal structure since 2010, with each season bringing fresh ranked ladders, meta shifts, and exclusive rewards. Riot Games follows a consistent yearly cycle, though the timing has shifted over the years due to major updates and competitive schedules.
Pre-season periods fill the gap between seasons, letting players test experimental changes before ranked play resets. If you're trying to figure out when a specific season ran or what to expect from the current cycle, this breakdown covers every season from the original launch.
How do League of Legends Seasons Work?
League of Legends seasons are yearly competitive cycles that reset the ranked ladder and introduce major gameplay changes. Each LoL season runs for approximately 10-11 months, starting in January and ending in November, with a pre-season period filling the gap between cycles.
The ranked system resets at the start of every season, placing all players through fresh placement matches regardless of their previous rank. Your MMR (matchmaking rating) carries over with a soft reset, meaning you'll start slightly lower than where you finished but not from scratch. This gives everyone a chance to climb again while maintaining some consistency for skilled players.
Seasons are divided into two splits, each lasting around 5 months. Riot introduced the split system in Season 2023 to give players multiple checkpoints throughout the year. At the end of each split, you'll earn rewards based on your highest rank achieved during that split, and the ladder performs a mini-reset before the next split begins.
Pre-season is when Riot tests major changes before locking them in for ranked play. This period typically lasts 6-8 weeks and includes experimental updates to items, champions, and core systems. Your rank still exists during pre-season, but most players treat it as a testing ground since the ladder will reset soon anyway.
Major patches drop every two weeks during the active season, bringing champion balance changes, bug fixes, and occasional new content. Mid-season patches (around May-June) often introduce larger systemic changes that reshape the meta without waiting for a full season rollover.
Complete League of Legends Season Timeline
Season 1 ran significantly longer than any other season because Riot was still figuring out the competitive structure. Season 7 started in December instead of the typical pattern, making it one of the longest overlaps between competitive years.
The split system didn't exist until Season 13, when Riot decided to break each year into two competitive periods. Before that, seasons were a single continuous ranked grind with a single reward distribution at the end.
Here's every League of Legends season with start and end dates, including notable changes that defined each cycle.
Season | Start Date | End Date | Duration | Notable Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | July 13, 2010 | August 23, 2011 | 13 months | First ranked system, Elo rating introduced |
Season 2 | November 29, 2011 | November 12, 2012 | 11.5 months | New Summoner's Rift, draft pick added |
Season 3 | February 1, 2013 | November 11, 2013 | 9 months | League system replaced Elo, divisions introduced |
Season 4 | January 15, 2014 | November 11, 2014 | 10 months | Jungle overhaul, trinket system added |
Season 5 | January 21, 2015 | November 11, 2015 | 10 months | New map textures, Baron and Dragon reworks |
Season 6 | January 20, 2016 | November 8, 2016 | 10 months | Dynamic queue experiment, elemental drakes |
Season 7 | December 8, 2016 | November 7, 2017 | 11 months | Plant system, honor rework, 10 bans in draft |
Season 8 | January 16, 2018 | November 12, 2018 | 10 months | Rune system overhaul, removal of old masteries |
Season 9 | January 23, 2019 | November 19, 2019 | 10 months | Positional ranks tested and removed, Iron tier added |
Season 10 | January 10, 2020 | November 10, 2020 | 10 months | Elemental rift changes, new dragon souls |
Season 11 | January 8, 2021 | November 15, 2021 | 10 months | Mythic items introduced, shop overhaul |
Season 12 | January 7, 2022 | November 14, 2022 | 10 months | Objective bounties, chemtech and hextech drakes |
Season 13 | January 11, 2023 | January 9, 2024 | 12 months | Split system introduced, jungle pets added |
Season 14 | January 10, 2024 | January 8, 2025 | 12 months | Map adjustments, Vanguard anti-cheat implementation |
Season 2025, Season 1 | January 9, 2025 | April 28, 2025 | 4 months | New multi-season yearly format introduced, ranked structure adjusted, new epic monster objectives added |
Season 2025, Season 2 | April 29, 2025 | August 12, 2025 | 3 months | Themed seasonal gameplay focus, new permanent game mode introduced, role and champion select improvements |
Season 2025, Season 3 | August 26, 2025 | January 7, 2026 | 4 months | Quality-of-life updates, objective system refinements, competitive tools, and map systems were polished |
Season 2026 Season 1 | January 8, 2026 | April 28, 2026 | 3 months | Overhauled the game with Role Quests providing unique late-game rewards, significantly faster game starts, and a major rework to turret plates and vision systems. |
Season 2026 Season 2 | April 29, 2026 | TBD | - | Rollout of WASD controls for Ranked play, the return of the Deathfire Touch and Stormraider’s Surge keystones, a new game-termination system |
Also Read: How to Counter Zaahen in League of Legends?
What is the Current League of Legends Season?
League of Legends current annual cycle is 2026, which started on January 8, 2026. This season continues the three-split format introduced in Season 15, giving players multiple ranked checkpoints throughout the year.
Season 16 introduced massive gameplay overhauls that fundamentally changed how Summoner's Rift matches are played. Here's a breakdown of all the major changes that happened in LoL Season 16:
Feature | Status | What it does / why it changed |
|---|---|---|
New systems | ||
Role Quests | Added | Each position gets unique objectives and rewards. Progress through normal gameplay — last-hitting, fighting, taking plates and towers. Lane actions award double points.
|
Faelights | Added | Glowing rings on the map that grant 25% extra vision radius and a 45-second bonus vision zone when warded. Some only spawn after Elemental Rift. Makes vision more accessible for all roles, especially for enabling split pushes. Also: trinket cooldown reduced, Oracle Lens duration up to 8 seconds, more Scryer's Blooms added. |
Crystalline Overgrowth | Added | Builds up on lane turrets over time and bursts for true damage when hit. Not stat-dependent — any champion can convert a short push window into meaningful progress. Demolish rune simplified to a three-hit passive as a result. |
Permanent Turret Plates | Added | All turrets (except Nexus) now have plates at 10/25/45/70/100% missing HP that give local gold. Plates no longer fall off at 14 minutes and extended to inner and inhibitor turrets. Rewards partial tower progress instead of requiring full takedowns. |
Minion Frenzy | Added | Killing an enemy champion temporarily buffs nearby allied minions with increased movement speed, attack speed, and damage to turrets. Rewards securing kills by creating an immediate wave-push window. |
New items | ||
New Items | Added | Nine new items plus two returning (Hextech Gunblade and Stormrazor), each filling a previously underserved niche:
|
Gameplay changes | ||
200% Crit Damage | Changed | Base crit damage increased from 175% to 200%. Most ADCs received ability scaling nerfs to compensate, shifting them toward auto-attack carries rather than ability-spam playstyles. |
Game Start Time | Changed | Minions spawn at 30 seconds instead of 1:00. First jungle camps spawn at 55 seconds. Waves spawn every 25 seconds after 14 minutes and every 20 seconds after 30 minutes. Baron Nashor now spawns at 20 minutes instead of 25. |
Super Minion Spawns | Changed | Super minions now spawn with every wave after an Inhibitor dies, not just cannon waves. Makes Inhibitor kills create significantly more pressure and forces immediate defensive responses. |
Homeguard | Changed | Reworked with no duration cap. Grants 150% movement speed after 14:00, ramping down to 65% over 4 seconds. Now ends approximately 2,000 units before the minion wave to prevent dive setups. |
Removed | ||
Atakhan | Removed | Scrapped for making games too objective-focused and narrowing strategic options. Its removal reduces objective overload and lets Baron return to a 20-minute spawn. |
Blood Roses | Removed | Removed alongside Atakhan — the mechanic had no standalone purpose without it. |
Feats of Strength | Removed | Cut for adding complexity without enough payoff. First Blood (100 gold) and first turret (300 gold) bonuses returned instead. Tier 3 boots moved to the mid lane role quest. |
League of Legends Season 16 split structure runs from early January through mid-December, with each split lasting roughly 3-4 months. Players earn split-specific rewards at the end of each competitive period before the ladder performs a mini-reset.
Also Read: Current State of League of Legends ⸱ Is LoL Dying?
Riot’s Patch Notes Frequency in League of Legends
Riot releases new League of Legends patches every two weeks during the active season, typically on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, depending on your region. Each patch brings a mix of balance changes, bug fixes, and occasional new content to keep the game fresh between major seasonal updates.
Standard patches include champion balance adjustments (buffs and nerfs to abilities, stats, and scaling), item changes, and system tweaks based on pro play and solo queue data. Riot monitors win rates, pick rates, and ban rates across all ranks to determine which champions need adjustment.
Larger patches drop at specific intervals throughout the season. Mid-season patches (usually around May-June) introduce bigger systemic changes like new items, jungle adjustments, or objective reworks. These patches reshape the meta more dramatically than standard two-week updates.
New content arrives on a rotating schedule. Champion releases happen roughly every 4-6 weeks, with new skins dropping in most patches. Events and limited-time game modes typically coincide with major holidays or esports tournaments, bringing exclusive missions and rewards.
Pre-season patches are the most experimental, testing major overhauls to core systems before the next ranked season begins. These patches can completely change how the game plays, from reworking entire item classes to redesigning fundamental mechanics like runes or summoner spells.
End-of-Season Rewards for League of Legends Ranked
Your highest rank achieved during a season determines your end-of-season rewards, and you'll receive separate rewards for each split if you played ranked during those periods. Riot distributes rewards shortly after the season officially ends, usually within a few weeks.
Ranked borders and loading screen frames are the most visible rewards, displaying your tier (Iron through Challenger) to other players in every game. These borders update based on your current rank, but the end-of-season frame locks in your highest achievement for that year.
Victorious skins are exclusive to Gold+ players and never return to the shop, making them some of the rarest cosmetics in the game. Riot releases one Victorious skin per season, usually for a champion that defined the competitive meta that year. Past Victorious skins include champions like Graves, Anivia, and Blitzcrank.
Profile icons, emotes, and ward skins round out the reward package, with higher tiers receiving more elaborate versions. Challenger and Grandmaster players get special recall animations and unique chromas that distinguish them from lower ranks.
Split rewards work separately from end-of-season rewards, meaning you can earn multiple sets of cosmetics throughout the year. Each split offers its own set of icons, emotes, and split-specific rewards based on your peak rank during that competitive period.
Conclusion
Season 2026 marks one of the biggest shifts in League of Legends history, moving away from objective-focused gameplay toward more lane-centric strategies. The addition of Role Quests gives each position distinct power spikes and unique tools, creating clearer win conditions for different team compositions.
Split pushers finally have meaningful ways to pressure towers through Crystalline Overgrowth, while vision control became more strategic with Faelights instead of just spamming wards everywhere. The game's pace changed too, with faster starts and longer overall match times giving teams more opportunities to mount comebacks instead of getting steamrolled after one bad fight.
Looking ahead, Riot will likely continue tweaking these systems based on player feedback and professional play data. The three-split structure keeps ranked feeling fresh throughout the year, and with seasonal changes this substantial, there's plenty of time to adapt and master the new meta. If past seasons taught us anything, it's that the League constantly evolves, and players who adapt fastest usually climb the highest.
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