League of Legends Rank Distribution in Season 8
The League of Legends rank distribution and percentage of players by tier during Season 8. Solo queue data on the entire player base in all regions.
Thanks to the API implemented by Riot, we have access to reliable statistics on the player distribution by tier. There are several websites that gather and share these data; after examining the most reliable ones, I concluded that there are almost no differences among their tools.
If you notice small percentage gaps, they are probably due to the servers considered and to the last update of their services. Even 30 minutes can create a minimum discrepancy.
The statistics in the graph and the table below consider all the regions and only the ranks in solo queue.
All the League of Legends ranked seasons
I had to split this analysis into multiple articles due to the excessive number of tables and graphs, which resulted in very long loading times.
New tiers and rank distribution in 2019
I have summed up all the changes to the tiers and the rank distribution explained by the developers in the video below and in successive blogs.
The issues with the 2018 system
Bronze players are not rewarded properly. It is problematic to understand if you are improving or not because climbing the divisions at this rank is not an easy task.
Instead, Gold players tend to shift too quickly from a division to another (negatively and positively) even with minimal and temporary skill variations.
There is a massive skill difference between the top and the bottom of Diamond, and in particular the players ranked at the highest tier of Diamond have an expertise level similar to Master ones.
The new ranks: Iron and GrandMaster
Iron is a new tier below Bronze which will better distribute the players in the lowest area of the matchmaking, and give them a more satisfying game experience.
The developers decided to get rid of the “Diamond V scrub” meme. Initially, they thought to break Master into divisions, but that solution might bring back the same problem that is already plaguing the players at Diamond. In the end, they created a brand new tier above Master: GrandMaster.
In the new system, the current Master players should expect to rank up at GrandMaster or remain at Master, depending on their skill level.
Four Divisions. Finally, ranking up won‘t be exponentially harder due to the new tiers because the whole ranked system has been redistributed by reducing the number of divisions from five to four.
Placement games
You are the only one able to see your provisional rank during the placement matches. Only after completing all the provisional games your rank will become public. This system will help to get rid of any anxiety while also making all rank changes completely transparent.
Rank distribution - Season 8
November 2018
| Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze V | 1.70 | Gold V | 14.94 | Diamond V | 1.67 |
| Bronze IV | 1.68 | Gold IV | 5.94 | Diamond IV | 0.35 |
| Bronze III | 2.27 | Gold III | 4.10 | Diamond III | 0.19 |
| Bronze II | 2.68 | Gold II | 2.59 | Diamond II | 0.10 |
| Bronze I | 3.26 | Gold I | 3.90 | Diamond I | 0.05 |
| Silver V | 10.77 | Platinum V | 4.48 | Master | 0.05 |
| Silver IV | 10.49 | Platinum IV | 1.70 | Challenger | 0.02 |
| Silver III | 10.34 | Platinum III | 1.45 | ||
| Silver II | 8.65 | Platinum II | 1.12 | ||
| Silver I | 5.03 | Platinum I | 0.47 |
A summary of the data
Only 12% of the player base belongs to the Bronze tier. It is a reasonable number because this placement represents the very casual and inexpert players.
The average player is a Silver II as this tier goes from the top 52% to 43%. I believe that an excessive amount of players is placed at Silver and a redistribution might be beneficial to League of Legends. I inspected the rank distribution of several competitive games, and finding so many players packed in the lowest two tiers is really odd.
Gold encompasses all players from the top 87% to 57% - in my opinion, it should become the average rank.
Not even 0.1% of the population is able to reach Master and Challenger. Diamond is already an elite group for less than 2% of the player base. If you are at Platinum, consider yourself an excellent summoner who mastered the game as this tier includes about 9% of the entire community.
Distribution:
Bronze: 11.61%
Silver: 45.28%
Gold: 31.47%
Platinum: 9.21%
Diamond: 2.37%
Master: 0.05%
Challenger: 0.02%
Previous months
October 2018
| Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze V | 1.97 | Gold V | 12.69 | Diamond V | 1.39 |
| Bronze IV | 1.89 | Gold IV | 5.89 | Diamond IV | 0.36 |
| Bronze III | 2.53 | Gold III | 4.14 | Diamond III | 0.18 |
| Bronze II | 3.01 | Gold II | 2.71 | Diamond II | 0.10 |
| Bronze I | 3.58 | Gold I | 4.24 | Diamond I | 0.07 |
| Silver V | 10.70 | Platinum V | 3.66 | Master | 0.03 |
| Silver IV | 10.45 | Platinum IV | 1.74 | Challenger | 0.02 |
| Silver III | 10.43 | Platinum III | 1.48 | ||
| Silver II | 9.14 | Platinum II | 1.19 | ||
| Silver I | 5.80 | Platinum I | 0.62 |
Distribution:
Bronze: 12.98%
Silver: 46.52%
Gold: 29.68%
Platinum: 8.68%
Diamond: 2.10%
Master: 0.03%
Challenger: 0.02%
September 2018
| Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze V | 2.19 | Gold V | 12.02 | Diamond V | 1.29 |
| Bronze IV | 2.06 | Gold IV | 5.79 | Diamond IV | 0.35 |
| Bronze III | 2.74 | Gold III | 4.09 | Diamond III | 0.18 |
| Bronze II | 3.25 | Gold II | 2.69 | Diamond II | 0.10 |
| Bronze I | 3.72 | Gold I | 4.08 | Diamond I | 0.07 |
| Silver V | 10.78 | Platinum V | 3.46 | Master | 0.03 |
| Silver IV | 10.43 | Platinum IV | 1.71 | Challenger | 0.02 |
| Silver III | 10.49 | Platinum III | 1.47 | ||
| Silver II | 9.31 | Platinum II | 1.18 | ||
| Silver I | 5.86 | Platinum I | 0.63 |
Distribution:
Bronze: 13.96%
Silver: 46.86%
Gold: 28.68%
Platinum: 8.45%
Diamond: 2.00%
Master: 0.03%
Challenger: 0.02%
August 2018
New design for the graph! Hope you like it :P.
| Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze V | 2.44% | Gold V | 11.44% | Diamond V | 1.24% |
| Bronze IV | 2.26% | Gold IV | 5.64% | Diamond IV | 0.35% |
| Bronze III | 2.99% | Gold III | 4.02% | Diamond III | 0.18% |
| Bronze II | 3.52% | Gold II | 2.64% | Diamond II | 0.10% |
| Bronze I | 3.88% | Gold I | 3.78% | Diamond I | 0.07% |
| Silver V | 10.85% | Platinum V | 3.32% | Master | 0.03% |
| Silver IV | 10.40% | Platinum IV | 1.70% | Challenger | 0.02% |
| Silver III | 10.51% | Platinum III | 1.47% | ||
| Silver II | 9.44% | Platinum II | 1.18% | ||
| Silver I | 5.88% | Platinum I | 0.64% |
Distribution:
Bronze: 15.09%
Silver: 47.08%
Gold: 27.52%
Platinum: 8.32%
Diamond: 1.95%
Master: 0.03%
Challenger: 0.02%
July 2018
| Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze V | 2.69% | Gold V | 10.95% | Diamond V | 1.23% |
| Bronze IV | 2.44% | Gold IV | 5.49% | Diamond IV | 0.35% |
| Bronze III | 3.23% | Gold III | 3.96% | Diamond III | 0.18% |
| Bronze II | 3.78% | Gold II | 2.59% | Diamond II | 0.10% |
| Bronze I | 4.04% | Gold I | 3.32% | Diamond I | 0.08% |
| Silver V | 10.88% | Platinum V | 3.25% | Master | 0.03% |
| Silver IV | 10.39% | Platinum IV | 1.71% | Challenger | 0.02% |
| Silver III | 10.53% | Platinum III | 1.49% | ||
| Silver II | 9.54% | Platinum II | 1.20% | ||
| Silver I | 5.88% | Platinum I | 0.65% |
June 2018
| Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze V | 2.90% | Gold V | 10.45% | Diamond V | 1.22% |
| Bronze IV | 2.61% | Gold IV | 5.36% | Diamond IV | 0.36% |
| Bronze III | 3.44% | Gold III | 3.90% | Diamond III | 0.18% |
| Bronze II | 4.02% | Gold II | 2.56% | Diamond II | 0.11% |
| Bronze I | 4.19% | Gold I | 2.84% | Diamond I | 0.08% |
| Silver V | 10.84% | Platinum V | 3.23% | Master | 0.03% |
| Silver IV | 10.38% | Platinum IV | 1.71% | Challenger | 0.02% |
| Silver III | 10.55% | Platinum III | 1.51% | ||
| Silver II | 9.70% | Platinum II | 1.23% | ||
| Silver I | 5.95% | Platinum I | 0.64% |
May 2018
| Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze V | 3.04% | Gold V | 9.87% | Diamond V | 1.13% |
| Bronze IV | 2.78% | Gold IV | 5.22% | Diamond IV | 0.35% |
| Bronze III | 3.66% | Gold III | 3.84% | Diamond III | 0.18% |
| Bronze II | 4.27% | Gold II | 2.52% | Diamond II | 0.10% |
| Bronze I | 4.31% | Gold I | 2.59% | Diamond I | 0.07% |
| Silver V | 10.89% | Platinum V | 3.02% | Master | 0.04% |
| Silver IV | 10.38% | Platinum IV | 1.67% | Challenger | 0.02% |
| Silver III | 10.62% | Platinum III | 1.50% | ||
| Silver II | 9.95% | Platinum II | 1.25% | ||
| Silver I | 6.08% | Platinum I | 0.65% |
April 2018
| Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage | Rank | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze V | 3.27% | Gold V | 9.33% | Diamond V | 1.08% |
| Bronze IV | 2.96% | Gold IV | 5.04% | Diamond IV | 0.34% |
| Bronze III | 3.89% | Gold III | 3.77% | Diamond III | 0.18% |
| Bronze II | 4.54% | Gold II | 2.46% | Diamond II | 0.10% |
| Bronze I | 4.51% | Gold I | 2.30% | Diamond I | 0.07% |
| Silver V | 10.83% | Platinum V | 2.88% | Master | 0.04% |
| Silver IV | 10.35% | Platinum IV | 1.63% | Challenger | 0.02% |
| Silver III | 10.67% | Platinum III | 1.51% | ||
| Silver II | 10.15% | Platinum II | 1.27% | ||
| Silver I | 6.16% | Platinum I | 0.66% |
