How Many Champions are in LoL?

You may be wondering just how many champions there are in League of Legends as of January 2024, the short answer is 168! In this article, we'll take a quick look at the League of Legends champions and their count!

League has added new champions almost every year since it launched in 2009. Now over 160 champions duke it out on the Rift. This huge roster lets players pick champs that match their playstyle.

All LoL Champions Release Dates

Here are the original League of Legends champions released on February 21, 2009:

• Alistar
• Annie
• Ashe
• Fiddlesticks
• Jax
• Kayle
• Master Yi
• Morgana
• Nunu and Willump
• Ryze
• Sion
• Sivir
• Soraka
• Teemo
• Tristana
• Twisted Fate
• Warwick

Then we have other champions that were released in the year 2009 as League of Legends was still a new game and needed updates:

• Singed (April 18, 2009)
• Zilean (April 18, 2009)
• Evelynn (May 1, 2009)
• Tryndamere (May 1, 2009)
• Twitch (May 1, 2009)
• Karthus (June 12, 2009)
• Amumu (June 26, 2009)
• Cho'Gath (June 26, 2009)
• Anivia (July 10, 2009)
• Rammus (July 10, 2009)
• Veigar (July 24, 2009)
• Kassadin (August 7, 2009)
• Gangplank (August 19, 2009)
• Taric (August 19, 2009)
• Blitzcrank (September 2, 2009)
• Dr. Mundo (September 2, 2009)
• Janna (September 2, 2009)
• Malphite (September 2, 2009)
• Corki (September 19, 2009)
• Katarina (September 19, 2009)
• Nasus (October 1, 2009)
• Heimerdinger (October 10, 2009)
• Shaco (October 10, 2009)
• Udyr (December 2, 2009)
• Nidalee (December 17, 2009)

Moving in time, it is time for champions that were released in the year of 2010! Long time yeah?

• Poppy (January 13, 2010)
• Gragas (February 2, 2010)
• Pantheon (February 2, 2010)
• Mordekaiser (February 24, 2010)
• Ezreal (March 16, 2010)
• Shen (March 24, 2010)
• Kennen (April 8, 2010)
• Garen (April 27, 2010)
• Akali (May 11, 2010)
• Malzahar (June 1, 2010)
• Olaf (June 9, 2010)
• Kog'Maw (June 24, 2010)
• Xin Zhao (July 13, 2010)
• Vladimir (July 27, 2010)
• Galio (August 10, 2010)
• Urgot (August 24, 2010)
• Miss Fortune (September 8, 2010)
• Sona (September 21, 2010)
• Swain (October 5, 2010)
• Lux (October 19, 2010)
• LeBlanc (November 2, 2010)
• Irelia (November 16, 2010)
• Trundle (December 1, 2010)
• Cassiopeia (December 14, 2010)

Moving next to the League of Legends champions that were released in 2011:

• ● Caitlyn (January 4, 2011)
• ● Renekton (January 18, 2011)
• ● Karma (February 1, 2011)
• ● Maokai (February 16, 2011)
• ● Jarvan IV (March 1, 2011)
• ● Nocturne (March 15, 2011)
• ● Lee Sin (April 1, 2011)
• ● Brand (April 12, 2011)
• ● Rumble (April 26, 2011)
• ● Vayne (May 10, 2011)
• ● Orianna (June 1, 2011)
• ● Yorick (June 22, 2011)
• ● Leona (July 13, 2011)
• ● Wukong (July 26, 2011)
• ● Skarner (August 9, 2011)
• ● Talon (August 24, 2011)
• ● Riven (September 14, 2011)
• ● Xerath (October 5, 2011)
• ● Graves (October 19, 2011)
• ● Shyvana (November 1, 2011)
• ● Fizz (November 15, 2011)
• ● Volibear (November 29, 2011)
• ● Ahri (December 14, 2011)
• ● Viktor (December 29, 2011)

Here are the champions that were released in 2012:

• Sejuani (January 17, 2012)
• Ziggs (February 1, 2012)
• Nautilus (February 14, 2012)
• Fiora (February 29, 2012)
• Lulu (March 20, 2012)
• Hecarim (April 18, 2012)
• Varus (May 8, 2012)
• Darius (May 23, 2012)
• Draven (June 6, 2012)
• Jayce (July 7, 2012)
• Zyra (July 24, 2012)
• Diana (August 7, 2012)
• Rengar (August 21, 2012)
• Syndra (September 13, 2012)
• Kha'Zix (September 27, 2012)
• Elise (October 26, 2012)
• Zed (November 13, 2012)
• Nami (December 7, 2012)
• Vi (December 19, 2012)

League of Legends is well-established in this period and started releasing less champions! Starting with 2013:

• Thresh (January 23, 2013)
• Quinn (March 1, 2013)
• Zac (March 29, 2013)
• Lissandra (April 30, 2023)
• Aatrox (June 13, 2013)
• Lucian (August 22, 2013)
• Jinx (October 10, 2023)
• Yasuo (December 13, 2013)

Then we have even fewer champions in 2014:

• Vel'Koz (February 27, 2014)
• Braum (May 12, 2014)
• Gnar (August 14, 2014)
• Azir (September 16, 2014)
• Kalista (November 20, 2014)
• Rek'Sai (December 11, 2014)

The years are running and the game is releasing an average number of 5 champions per year as in 2015:

• Bard (March 12, 2015)
• Ekko (May 29, 2015)
• Tahm Kench (July 9, 2015)
• Kindred (October 14, 2015)
• Illaoi (November 24, 2015)

In 2016, 6 champions were released in League of Legends:

• Jhin (February 1, 2016)
• Aurelion Sol (March 24, 2016)
• Taliyah (May 18, 2016)
• Kled (August 10, 2016)
• Ivern (October 5, 2016)
• Camille (December 7, 2016)

Then in 2017, another 5 champions were released in League of Legends:

• Rakan (April 19, 2017)
• Xayah (April 19, 2017)
• Kayn (July 12, 2017)
• Ornn (August 23, 2017)
• Zoe (November 21, 2017)

In 2018, the team was probably lazy and released only 3 new champions in the whole year:

• Kai'Sa (March 7, 2018)
• Pyke (May 21, 2018)
• Neeko (December 5, 2018)

Then in 2019, they increased the number of champions released in a year to their average again which is 5:

• Sylas (January 25, 2019)
• Yuumi (May 14, 2019)
• Qiyana (June 28, 2019)
• Senna (November 10, 2019)
• Aphelios (December 11, 2019)

In 2020, 6 champions were released in League of Legends:

• Sett (January 14, 2020)
• Lillia (July 22, 2020)
• Yone (August 6, 2020)
• Samira (September 21, 2020)
• Seraphine (October 29, 2020)
• Rell (December 10, 2020)

Another 4 champions were released in 2021:

• Viego (January 21, 2021)
• Gwen (April 15, 2021)
• Akshan (July 22, 2021)
• Vex (September 23, 2021)

In 2022, League of Legends decided to release 5 new champions again:

• Zeri (January 20, 2022)
• Renata Glasc (February 17, 2022)
• Bel'Veth (June 9, 2022)
• Nilah (July 17, 2022)
• K'Sante (November 3, 2022)

Last year in 2023, 4 champions were released:

• Milio (March 22, 2023)
• Naafiri (July 20, 2023)
• Briar (September 14, 2023)
• Hwei (December 6, 2023)

Now finally, this year, only 1 champion was released but we are expecting more to come:

• Smolder (February 8, 2024)

How to Unlock League of Legends Champions?

Unlocking champions in League of Legends may be a boring process. Here are a few tips for unlocking champions in League of Legends:

Play games and earn Blue Essence (BE) - You'll get some BE from First Win of the Day bonuses and from gaining account levels. The main way to get BE is by earning it at the end of each match based on your performance.

Use BE to unlock champions in the in-game store - Each champion has a BE price, usually between 450 and 6300. Check how much BE you need to unlock the champs you want.

Buy LoL Boosting- We believe that League of Legends Boosting can be a helpful way to unlock LoL Champions as these companies do their best to help you achieve your gaming goals.

Complete missions and challenges that reward BE - There are daily missions, intro challenges for new players, and event passes that give BE for completing objectives.

Upgrade champion shards into permanent champions using BE - You can get champion shards from loot chests and hextech crafting.

Buy champs with Riot Points (RP) - You can purchase RP with real money to unlock champs instantly. This isn't necessary but can speed up the process.

Wait for free champion rotation - Riot rotates a selection of free champs to play each week. It's a chance to try before you unlock.

Get champ shards from loot chests and promotions - Occasionally Riot will give away free champ shards during events or as rewards.

The key is to just play regularly and earn BE over time. Also focus on getting the 450 and 1350 BE champions first as they are cheaper to unlock. With some patience you'll be able to expand your champ pool.

Final Words

League of Legends keeps changing and getting better. Every new champion makes the game more exciting. Whether you're just starting or you've played many times, there's always something new and fun to do.

So keep on playing, unlocking new champions, and most of all, have fun in the world of League of Legends. Here's to more adventures and more champions in the future!