Every League of Legends Champion by Release Date (2009–2026 Complete List)

League of Legends has been pumping out champions since 2009, and the roster has ballooned from 17 alpha-test characters to a full 172 champions by release date. That's a lot of kits to learn, a lot of reworks to track, and a lot of "who the hell is that?" moments when you come back after a two-month break.

This is the full list. Every champion, every release date, organized by year. Whether you're trying to settle a debate about who came first, or you just want to see how Riot's release pace went from "two champs a patch" to "three a year," it's all here.

If you're more interested in the current total count and role breakdown, check out our how many champions are in LoL article. This one is about the timeline.

All LoL Champions by Release Date: The Complete Timeline

Let's get into it. Every single champion, year by year, from the alpha test to Season 16.

2009 — The Year It All Started (42 Champions)

Riot shipped 42 champions in a single year. That's more than they've released in the last *five years combined*. The pace was unhinged — sometimes two champions dropped in the same patch, with kits that were designed in a weekend and balanced by vibes.

The original 17 all landed on February 21 during the alpha. Then Riot kept adding champions through beta and the official October 27 launch. Most of these kits were simple by today's standards. Point-and-click abilities, stat-check duels, and hitboxes the size of Baron pit.

2009 42 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Feb 21	Alistar	Support
Feb 21	Annie	Mid
Feb 21	Ashe	ADC
Feb 21	Fiddlesticks	Jungle
Feb 21	Jax	Top
Feb 21	Kayle	Top
Feb 21	Master Yi	Jungle
Feb 21	Morgana	Support
Feb 21	Nunu & Willump	Jungle
Feb 21	Ryze	Mid
Feb 21	Sion	Top
Feb 21	Sivir	ADC
Feb 21	Soraka	Support
Feb 21	Teemo	Top
Feb 21	Tristana	ADC
Feb 21	Twisted Fate	Mid
Feb 21	Warwick	Jungle
Apr 18	Singed	Top
Apr 18	Zilean	Support
May 1	Evelynn	Jungle
May 1	Tryndamere	Top
May 1	Twitch	ADC
Jun 12	Karthus	Mid
Jun 26	Amumu	Jungle
Jun 26	Cho'Gath	Top
Jul 10	Anivia	Mid
Jul 10	Rammus	Jungle
Jul 24	Veigar	Mid
Aug 7	Kassadin	Mid
Aug 19	Gangplank	Top
Aug 19	Taric	Support
Sep 2	Blitzcrank	Support
Sep 2	Dr. Mundo	Top
Sep 2	Janna	Support
Sep 2	Malphite	Top
Sep 19	Corki	ADC
Sep 19	Katarina	Mid
Oct 1	Nasus	Top
Oct 10	Heimerdinger	Mid
Oct 10	Shaco	Jungle
Dec 2	Udyr	Jungle
Dec 17	Nidalee	Mid

Half of these champions have been reworked so heavily they're basically different characters now. Sion went from a zombie with a stun to a full-on undead juggernaut. Fiddlesticks got a horror movie makeover. And Ryze? The guy has been reworked so many times it's a community meme — he's had more kits than most champions have skins.

2010 — The Rapid Expansion (24 Champions)

2010 was when League started feeling like a real game. Riot was still shipping champions every two weeks, and some of the most iconic kits in the game dropped this year. Ezreal, Miss Fortune, Lux, Irelia — these are champions people still one-trick in 2026.

This was also the year Riot figured out that "give them a dash" makes champions way more fun. The mobility creep started here.

2010 24 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 13	Poppy	Top
Feb 2	Gragas	Mid
Feb 2	Pantheon	Top
Feb 24	Mordekaiser	Mid
Mar 16	Ezreal	ADC
Mar 24	Shen	Top
Apr 8	Kennen	Top
Apr 27	Garen	Top
May 11	Akali	Mid
Jun 1	Malzahar	Mid
Jun 9	Olaf	Top
Jun 24	Kog'Maw	ADC
Jul 13	Xin Zhao	Jungle
Jul 27	Vladimir	Mid
Aug 10	Galio	Mid
Aug 24	Urgot	Top
Sep 8	Miss Fortune	ADC
Sep 21	Sona	Support
Oct 5	Swain	Mid
Oct 19	Lux	Mid
Nov 2	LeBlanc	Mid
Nov 16	Irelia	Top
Dec 1	Trundle	Jungle
Dec 14	Cassiopeia	Mid

2011 — The Golden Year (24 Champions)

2011 was peak champion output. Lee Sin, Vayne, Riven, Ahri, Graves — this single year produced more fan-favorite champions than some entire eras. Lee Sin alone has been a top-5 jungle pick for over a decade. Vayne defined what a hypercarry ADC looks like. Riven became the poster child for mechanical outplays.

If you started playing League in 2011, you witnessed the game go from "fun MOBA experiment" to "global esports phenomenon." Season 1 Worlds happened this year, and the champion roster was growing fast enough to keep the meta shifting every patch.

2011 24 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 4	Caitlyn	ADC
Jan 18	Renekton	Top
Feb 1	Karma	Support
Feb 16	Maokai	Jungle
Mar 1	Jarvan IV	Jungle
Mar 15	Nocturne	Jungle
Apr 1	Lee Sin	Jungle
Apr 12	Brand	Mid
Apr 26	Rumble	Top
May 10	Vayne	ADC
Jun 1	Orianna	Mid
Jun 22	Yorick	Top
Jul 13	Leona	Support
Jul 26	Wukong	Top
Aug 9	Skarner	Jungle
Aug 24	Talon	Mid
Sep 14	Riven	Top
Oct 5	Xerath	Mid
Oct 19	Graves	Jungle
Nov 1	Shyvana	Jungle
Nov 15	Fizz	Mid
Nov 29	Volibear	Top
Dec 14	Ahri	Mid
Dec 29	Viktor	Mid

2012 — The Design Leap (19 Champions)

This is when Riot started getting creative. Thresh reinvented what a support could do. Zed made assassins feel like an art form. Darius taught every top laner what "getting dunked" means. Draven introduced the axe-catching mechanic that separated the psychopaths from the normal ADC players.

The release pace slowed slightly — 19 instead of 24 — but the quality jumped hard. Champions started having real identities, not just "mage with skillshot" or "tank with stun."

2012 19 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 17	Sejuani	Jungle
Feb 1	Ziggs	Mid
Feb 14	Nautilus	Support
Feb 29	Fiora	Top
Mar 20	Lulu	Support
Apr 18	Hecarim	Jungle
May 8	Varus	ADC
May 23	Darius	Top
Jun 6	Draven	ADC
Jul 7	Jayce	Top
Jul 24	Zyra	Support
Aug 7	Diana	Mid
Aug 21	Rengar	Jungle
Sep 13	Syndra	Mid
Sep 27	Kha'Zix	Jungle
Oct 26	Elise	Jungle
Nov 13	Zed	Mid
Dec 7	Nami	Support
Dec 19	Vi	Jungle

2013 — Quality Over Quantity Begins (8 Champions)

The release pace dropped off a cliff. From 19 champions in 2012 to just 8 in 2013. But look at the names: Thresh, Zac, Lucian, Jinx, Yasuo. That's a murderer's row of iconic champions. Yasuo alone has been the most played (and most banned) champion in the game for years.

This was the year Riot realized they didn't need to ship a champion every two weeks. They could take their time and make each one matter.

2013 8 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 23	Thresh	Support
Mar 1	Quinn	Top
Mar 29	Zac	Jungle
Apr 30	Lissandra	Mid
Jun 13	Aatrox	Top
Aug 22	Lucian	ADC
Oct 10	Jinx	ADC
Dec 13	Yasuo	Mid

2014 — The Competitive Era (6 Champions)

Only 6 champions, but Braum became the gold standard for tank supports, Gnar introduced the transform mechanic that made top lane way more interesting, and Azir... well, Azir has been either completely broken or completely useless for his entire existence. There is no in-between with that champion.

Kalista and Rek'Sai closed out the year, both bringing unique movement mechanics that hadn't been seen before.

2014 6 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Feb 27	Vel'Koz	Mid
May 12	Braum	Support
Aug 14	Gnar	Top
Sep 16	Azir	Mid
Nov 20	Kalista	ADC
Dec 11	Rek'Sai	Jungle

2015 — The Innovation Year (5 Champions)

Five champions, but every single one brought something genuinely new. Bard was the first support designed to roam the entire map. Ekko gave assassins a rewind button. Tahm Kench could literally eat his ADC to save them. Kindred was the first marksman jungler designed from the ground up. And Illaoi? She just slams tentacles and doesn't care about your feelings.

2015 5 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Mar 12	Bard	Support
May 29	Ekko	Mid
Jul 9	Tahm Kench	Support
Oct 14	Kindred	Jungle
Nov 24	Illaoi	Top

2016 — The Duo Lane Revolution (6 Champions)

Jhin kicked off 2016 and immediately became one of the most aesthetically satisfying champions ever made. Four shots. Four. Everything about him revolves around the number four. Riot's champion design team was cooking this year.

Xayah and Rakan wouldn't come until 2017, but Camille closed out 2016 as one of the most overloaded kits on release — true damage on a basic ability, a hookshot, and an ult that literally traps you in a cage. She got hotfixed within days.

2016 6 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Feb 1	Jhin	ADC
Mar 24	Aurelion Sol	Mid
May 18	Taliyah	Mid
Aug 10	Kled	Top
Oct 5	Ivern	Jungle
Dec 7	Camille	Top

2017 — The Year of Xayah, Rakan, and Chaos (5 Champions)

Xayah and Rakan were the first champions designed as a pair — they literally have special interactions when played together. It was a cool concept that Riot hasn't really repeated since.

Kayn introduced the form-switching mechanic (Shadow Assassin vs. Rhaast), Ornn let you upgrade items for your team, and Zoe... Zoe made everyone want to uninstall. One-shotting people with a single Q from fog of war. Good times.

2017 5 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Apr 19	Rakan	Support
Apr 19	Xayah	ADC
Jul 12	Kayn	Jungle
Aug 23	Ornn	Top
Nov 21	Zoe	Mid

2018 — The Slow Down (3 Champions)

Only three champions in an entire year. Kai'Sa became the go-to ADC for anyone who wanted to play an assassin from bot lane. Pyke was the first assassin support — yes, an assassin support — and he could execute people and share the gold. Neeko rounded out the year as a shapeshifting mage.

This was the year Riot fully committed to "fewer champions, higher quality." The days of biweekly releases were long gone.

2018 3 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Mar 7	Kai'Sa	ADC
May 31	Pyke	Support
Dec 5	Neeko	Mid

2019 — Aphelios Breaks Everyone's Brain (5 Champions)

Sylas could steal your ult. Yuumi could sit on you and never get targeted. Qiyana brought elemental terrain manipulation. Senna was the first ADC/support hybrid. And then there was Aphelios — a champion with five different guns, no E ability, and a kit so complicated that Riot had to release a separate guide just to explain how he works.

2019 was the year Riot said "what if we just made champions as weird as possible?" and honestly, it worked.

2019 5 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 25	Sylas	Mid
May 14	Yuumi	Support
Jun 28	Qiyana	Mid
Nov 10	Senna	Support
Dec 11	Aphelios	ADC

2020 — The Pandemic Year (6 Champions)

COVID hit, but Riot kept shipping. Sett was the "punch things really hard" champion everyone needed. Lillia was the sleepy deer jungler nobody asked for but some people love. Yone was literally Yasuo's dead brother brought back to life — because one Yasuo wasn't enough, apparently.

Samira was so broken on release she got hotfixed multiple times. Seraphine caused a community meltdown because people thought she was just a Sona rework sold as a new champion. And Rell... existed. She's been reworked since.

2020 6 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 14	Sett	Top
Jul 22	Lillia	Jungle
Aug 6	Yone	Mid
Sep 21	Samira	ADC
Oct 29	Seraphine	Mid
Dec 10	Rell	Support

2021 — Viego and the Ruination (4 Champions)

The Ruination event was supposed to be League's biggest lore moment ever. Viego, the Ruined King, was the centerpiece — a jungler who could possess dead enemy champions. Cool mechanic, buggy as hell on release.

Gwen was the haunted doll top laner. Akshan had a revive on his kit (yes, really). And Vex was the anti-mobility mage that everyone had been begging for since 2018.

2021 4 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 21	Viego	Jungle
Apr 15	Gwen	Top
Jul 22	Akshan	Mid
Sep 23	Vex	Mid

2022 — K'Sante and the Overloaded Kit Debate (5 Champions)

Zeri was the electric ADC who dashed around like she was playing a different game. Renata Glasc had an ult that made enemies attack each other — genuinely terrifying in teamfights. Bel'Veth was the Void empress jungler. Nilah was the melee bot laner that nobody plays.

And then K'Sante dropped. His kit had so many mechanics crammed into it that the community spent weeks just trying to figure out what he actually does. He's been nerfed, buffed, and reworked more times than anyone can count.

2022 5 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 20	Zeri	ADC
Feb 17	Renata Glasc	Support
Jun 9	Bel'Veth	Jungle
Jul 13	Nilah	ADC
Nov 2	K'Sante	Top

2023 — Hwei's 10 Abilities (4 Champions)

Milio was the wholesome enchanter support. Naafiri was the simplest assassin Riot had released in years — a breath of fresh air after K'Sante. Briar was the berserker jungler who literally can't stop auto-attacking.

Then Hwei showed up with *ten* abilities. Three stances, each with three spells, plus a passive. He's basically three champions in a trenchcoat. If you thought Aphelios was complicated, Hwei said "hold my paint palette."

2023 4 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Mar 23	Milio	Support
Jul 19	Naafiri	Mid
Sep 14	Briar	Jungle
Dec 5	Hwei	Mid

2024 — Arcane Season 2 Takes Over (3 Champions)

Smolder was the baby dragon ADC who scales infinitely — think Nasus but for bot lane. Aurora was the fae mage who brought portal mechanics to mid lane. And Ambessa Medarda dropped alongside Arcane Season 2, bringing the show's characters directly into the game.

Riot is clearly tying champion releases to their media properties now. Expect more of this going forward.

2024 3 champions — click to expand

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 31	Smolder	ADC
Jul 17	Aurora	Mid
Nov 6	Ambessa	Top

2025–2026 — The Current Era (3 Champions and Counting)

Mel Medarda was the second Arcane champion, arriving in January 2025 as a mid lane mage with a reflective shield mechanic. Yunara followed in July as an enchanter, and Zaahen rounds out the current roster as the newest champion, released in November 2025.

With Season 16 now in full swing, Riot has confirmed more champions are in development for 2026. The pace has settled at roughly 3-4 per year — a far cry from the 42-champion blitz of 2009.

2025 3 champions — newest

Date	Champion	Role
Jan 23	Mel	Mid
Jul 16	Yunara	Support
Nov 19	Zaahen	Top

Champion Release Milestones

Some releases hit different. Here are the numbers that matter:

It took Riot just over a year to hit 50 champions. Three years to hit 100. But getting from 150 to 172 took six years. The release pace has slowed dramatically, but the quality of each release has gone way up. A 2024 champion has more voice lines, more animations, more lore, and more mechanical depth than an entire year's worth of 2009 releases.

How Riot's Champion Release Pace Changed Over the Years

Here's the thing most people don't realize: Riot went from releasing a new champion every two weeks to releasing one every four months. And honestly? The game is better for it.

In the early days (2009-2011), the priority was filling out the roster. You needed enough champions for bans, for counterpicks, for different team comps. Quantity mattered. But once the roster hit 120+, the problem shifted. Now it wasn't about having *enough* champions — it was about making each new one feel distinct from the 120 that already existed.

That's why modern champions like Hwei and Aphelios are so mechanically complex. When you've already got 170 champions, "mage with skillshot" isn't going to cut it anymore. You need "mage with ten abilities and a paint theme" to stand out.

What This Means for New Players in 2026

If you're just starting League in 2026, staring at 172 champions is genuinely overwhelming. You don't need to learn all of them. Here's the reality:

• About 30-40 champions see regular play in any given patch
• Another 30-40 are niche picks that show up occasionally
• The rest are either rework candidates or so unpopular that you'll rarely see them in your games

Start with the easiest champions to learn and branch out from there. You don't need to know what Aphelios does until you're at least Platinum. And even then, half the Aphelios players don't know what Aphelios does.

If you're coming back after a break and the roster feels alien, check how many champions are in LoL right now for a quick overview of the current state, or use our MMR Checker to see where you stand before jumping back into ranked.

Want to try new champions without risking your main account?

A smurf account lets you experiment with unfamiliar champions in ranked without tanking your main's MMR. If you've been one-tricking for three seasons and want to branch out, it's the smart play.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many champions are in League of Legends right now?

As of early 2026, there are 172 champions in League of Legends. The newest is Zaahen, released on November 19, 2025. Riot typically releases 3-4 new champions per year now.

Who was the first champion released in League of Legends?

The original 17 champions all debuted on February 21, 2009 during the alpha test. However, Singed holds internal champion ID #1, making him technically the first champion ever created by Riot.

How often does Riot release new champions?

Riot currently releases about 3-4 champions per year. This is way down from the early days — in 2009 alone, they released 42 champions. The slower pace allows for more complex and polished champion designs.

What was the 100th League of Legends champion?

Jayce was the 100th champion, released on July 7, 2012. He introduced the stance-switching mechanic that let him swap between ranged and melee forms.

Which year had the most champion releases?

2009 holds the record with 42 champions released in a single year, including the original 17 alpha champions and all the beta/launch additions. 2010 and 2011 tied for second with 24 each.

What are the newest League of Legends champions?

The three most recent champions are Mel (January 23, 2025), Yunara (July 16, 2025), and Zaahen (November 19, 2025). All three arrived during the lead-up to Season 16.