Welcome to the top of the food chain. To reach any of the top three ranked tiers in League of Legends is an incredible accomplishment and proves without a doubt you're among the best players in the world.
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Grandmaster ➟ |
Challenger |
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This guide will summarize everything you need to know about the Apex tiers including promotion, demotion, decay, and other expectations. Some of this information also applies to the other Ranked tiers, so check out these articles to learn more about the following:
Key Differences for Apex Players
With < 1% of players ever reaching this level of competitive gameplay, the rules and systems in place are a bit different for Apex ranks.
For starters, Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger tiers are a single division league. Once you climb into Master, it’s you versus every Apex ranked player in town. Players can reach Master by way of Solo/Duo or Flex queue, but there are a few important changes to know once you get there.
Solo Queue Limitations
Grandmaster and Challenger players can only queue up alone for ranked solo/duo queue.
Flex Queue Limitations
Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger players can play Flex queue solo, duo, or in teams of 3 or 5. You cannot, however, queue with any player ranked below Emerald.
Apex Rank Decay & Banked Days
The Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger tiers are all subject to rank decay, which is a -75 LP per-day penalty against inactivity. Apex players can prevent decay by playing games and earning banked days.
Master players who decay due to inactivity will descend into Diamond II, not Platinum I, and will restart their climb from there.
Banked days are how many decay events can pass before you start losing LP (with 1 decay event happening each night). You can see how many banked days you have in the Ranked tab of your in-client Player Profile.
Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger players bank 1 day per 1 game played and can bank a maximum of 14 days at a time. On top of needing to meet the LP requirements mentioned below, this means most Apex players are playing ranked games nearly every day to maintain their position.
For example
If an Apex player has 0 banked days and is about to go on a 2 week vacation, they’ll have to play 14 ranked games the day before they leave in order to earn the 14 banked days that will protect their LP from decay while they’re gone.
Please note that rank decay still occurs even when your account is banned!
IMPORTANT
Decay is cycled one last time on the final day of the season (decay happens at 11:45 p.m., then season ends at 12:00 a.m., for example), so we recommend having at least 1 more banked day than there are days remaining in the season.
Apex Promotion, Demotion, and LP Requirements
Unlike the non-Apex tiers, movement between Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger is much more fluid, with players moving up and down between them on a daily basis. Once you reach Master, your goal is to keep winning games and collect enough LP to overtake other Apex players, while meeting the tier and regional requirements needed to climb.
The Grandmaster and Challenger Tier standings refresh on a rotating twenty-four hour schedule. Each time the clock hits zero (local time), it recalculates all Master+ players in the same region and reorders them based on who’s met the requirements described below.
There's no upper limit on LP. Players that continue winning will keep earning LP and increase their lead in the standings. You can see the latest MMR leaderboards for your region in the Ranked tab of your in-client Player Profile.
Maximum Number of Players per Region and Tier
Maximum Number of Players by Tier (BR)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (EUNE)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (EUW)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (JP)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (KR)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (LATAM-N)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (LATAM-S)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (NA)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (OC)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (RU)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (TR)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (SEA)
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Maximum Number of Players by Tier (ALL)
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SOLO/DUO
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FLEX QUEUE
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Region
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Grandmaster
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Challenger
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Grandmaster
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Challenger
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| BR |
500 |
200 |
500 |
200 |
| EUNE |
500 |
200 |
100 |
50 |
| EUW |
700 |
300 |
500 |
200 |
| JP |
100 |
50 |
100 |
50 |
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KR
|
700 |
300 |
500 |
200 |
| LATAM-N |
500 |
200 |
100 |
50 |
| LATAM-S |
500 |
200 |
100 |
50 |
| NA |
700 |
300 |
100 |
50 |
| OC |
100 |
50 |
100 |
50 |
| RU |
100 |
50 |
100 |
50 |
| TR |
500 |
200 |
100 |
50 |
| SEA |
700 |
300 |
100 |
50 |
Master Tier Promotion & Demotion
Promote by reaching 100 LP; you’re protected from demotion for your first three games.
Demote by reaching 0 LP and losing again; you’ll start in Diamond I at 50 LP.
When you first enter Master, you’re protected from losses and cannot be removed for your first three games. Please note that rank decay happens separate from this—you can still demote due to inactivity!
Grandmaster Tier Promotion & Demotion
Promote by reaching 200 LP and gaining more LP than the lowest Grandmaster player in your region.
Demote by falling below 200 LP or by losing more LP than the lowest Grandmaster player in your region.
Challenger Tier Promotion & Demotion
Promote by reaching 500 LP and gaining more LP than the lowest Challenger player in your region.
Demote by falling below 500 LP or by losing more LP than the lowest Challenger player in your region.
Other Ranked Resources
Have questions about other aspects of Ranked? Find the answers in our Ranked FAQ!
