LoL Season 10 Kicks off January 10 A new year is just beginning, and with it, a brand new season of League of Legends. LoL’s pre-season is now coming to an end and after more than a month of experimentation and changes. It brought new developments including the new dragon soul and a raft of new shapes for Summoner’s Rift, and this only means one thing – that Season 10 is set to kick off on 10th January 2020! It’s an exciting time for players and fans of esports alike. New images were posted today on the League of Legends official Twitter account, piquing interest even more. Those who bet money on video games are getting hyped about the possibilities of wagering in the coming season. It’s easy to see why when you take a look at the release of the latest image. Quite possibly a teaser for Season 10’s new cinematic video, it displays the silhouette of Urgot as chains reach out for the dark shape of a victim. Its dramatic appearance has been specifically designed to cause a stir, and it’s achieving the desired effect. So, what can esports fanatics expect from LoL in 2020? What Can We Take From The Teaser Artwork? With the release of Riot’s teaser artwork, speculation is rife about what it means for Season 10. The incredible art features the contours of five champions along with the display of their ultimates within the negative space. Could this really be a coincidence? Or could these five champions form a potential composition in the Summoner’s Rift game? Rengar as jungler, Urgot for the top lane, Azir in mid, Nami as support and Kai’Sa for the bot lane? The possibility is a tantalizing one. Fans have also been speculating about whether or not the art is related to cinematics for the 2020 season. In 2019, “Awaken” was released by Riot Games. This astounding cinematic features numerous champions in action. Awaken was such a success than it’s only natural that LoL creator Riot would be keen to release a further cinematic to try to replicate the experience. Of course, only time will tell and players and fans are waiting with bated breath to find out more when the season finally opens in just a few days’ time. An Early Patch Release January 8th saw the release of 2020’s first patch, just two days before the kick-off of Season 10.  Its arrival on live servers introduced the latest juggernaut, Sett, along with a host of fantastic new skins, including the brand new Mecha Kingdom ones. These replace the Lunar New Year skins from this year to create a whole new look for the game. So, what should you know about the patch? Season 10 will be predominantly marked by Sett’s arrival. This tanky melee champion has been pushed onto live servers following extensive testing by PBE players over the last few weeks. Sett is a leader of the expanding criminal underworld of Ionia and has risen to prominence following the war against Noxus. Having started out in Navori’s fighting pits as just a humble challenger, his brutal strength together with his virtually infinite ability to take punishment has allowed him to rapidly gain notoriety. Having fought through the local combatant ranks, Sett has muscled his way to the top and has seized control over the pits in which he once fought. Having reigned supreme over the pits, this half-beast is now running illicit enterprises with an iron rod. If his authority is challenged, Sett reminds the challenger personally where their place is, and with each punch he throws, he is putting down his old life in which he was poor and ostracized. It is imperative to him that his old life stays in the past and that he moves on to a higher and more glorious future where he is the one who is control of his own destiny.   Meanwhile, the Mecha Kingdoms skins bring with them echoes of Pacific Rim. Garen, Leona, Jax and Draven are all benefiting from the changes brought by the new patch while Garen’s skin is also receiving a Prestige edition. Resetting Of Ranking The beginning of Season 10 will also see players’ ranks being reset. However, no hard reset will be in the offing. Instead, ranks will be calculated based on players’ performance across all their placement matches together with their performance in all the games that they played in the LoL pre-season. A further set of placement matches are then set to be played which will further decide each player’s beginning rank in the 2020 season. Ranking changes were introduced when Season 9 began. This allowed players to be given their provision rank following their initial ranked game within the season. In each placement, players earn LP for each win, however, their losses don’t detract from the score they receive. After completing 8 placement matches, the rank that each player has been allotted becomes visible. For players with higher ranks of Platinum or over, the reset is going to be larger. However, players with a Gold ranking or lower won’t find that their rank suffers too much. What about new accounts you ask? Well, new players will be seeded right on the bottom rung of the ladder, with plenty of fresh possibilities to begin climbing upwards as they play through their placement matches. The way the final rankings will eventually shape up remains to be seen, but keen bettors are sure to be able to take an educated guess at which position their favourite players are likely to hold once the initial eight placement matches are out of the way. Three Splits In Season 10 2020’s season will also be divided up into three different splits, each of which will offer unique rewards to participating players. This follows on from last season when players earned progress towards split rewards such as end-game emotes when they played matches during the split. During Season 9, each split lasted for around three months, and it’s likely that the same will hold true throughout Season 10, with the rewards for the first split taking their theme from Aphelios. Looking Forward To The Season Launch There isn’t long to go before the launch of Season 10, so whether you’re a player or a fan, it’s time to get ready for the excitement to begin. Who knows what 2020 will hold for League of Legends? But whatever happens, you can be sure that there’ll be thrilling matches ahead!