How Many Champions Are in League of Legends in 2026
There are 173 champions in League of Legends as of October 2026. The newest is Locke, the Ashen Exorcist, released on June 24, 2026, and Riot has said he is the only new champion this year. Before him came Zaahen in November 2025 and Yunara in July 2025. You need 20 of them to play ranked.
How many champions are in LoL right now?
173. That number comes straight from Riot’s own game data, Data Dragon for game patch 26.22, and the official League wiki lists the same count with Locke as the latest release.
The old version of this page said 172, and it was right in April. Then Locke shipped in June. So if you see 172 on another site, it simply hasn’t been updated since summer (it happens more than you’d think).
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Champions in the game (October 2026) | 173 |
| Newest champion | Locke, June 24, 2026 |
| Champions in the 2009 alpha | 17 |
| Champions at launch, October 27, 2009 | 40 |
| Champions you must own for ranked | 20 |
| New champions planned for the rest of 2026 | None announced |
Who is the newest LoL champion?
Locke is the newest, out since June 24, 2026. He comes from Demacia, which fits the 2026 season theme, and Riot’s game data tags him as a Fighter.
Why only one this year? Riot explained it early in 2026: most of the team that normally builds new champions was moved to a large update for the game. Honestly, that matches the trend. To be fair, the release pace has been slowing for a decade, and 2026 is just the lowest point so far.
Nothing official exists about the champion after Locke. For what it’s worth, leaks float around every few weeks, but until Riot names a champion in a dev update or patch notes, we don’t count it.
How many champions in LoL were released each year?
Most of the roster is old. By the end of 2012, 109 champions were already in the game, which is roughly two thirds of today’s 173. The years after that tell a very different story:
| Period | Champions released | Total at the end |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 (alpha to year end) | 42 | 42 |
| 2010 to 2012 | 67 | 109 |
| 2013 to 2017 | 30 | 139 |
| 2018 to 2022 | 23 | 162 |
| 2023 to 2025 | 10 | 172 |
| 2026 | 1 | 173 |
Look at 2010 and 2011: 24 champions each. Since 2023 Riot has released three or four a year, and only one in 2026. Put simply, more design time now goes into reworks and visual updates of old champions than into new ones, and the full year-by-year list with every name sits in our LoL champions by release date table.
How many champions are there per class?
Riot sorts every champion into classes in its game data. Each one gets a main class, and many also get a second one, so Sett, for example, counts as both Fighter and Tank. By main class, the 173 split like this:
| Main class | Champions | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Fighter | 50 | Darius, Jax, Locke |
| Mage | 35 | Lux, Syndra, Viktor |
| Marksman | 29 | Jinx, Caitlyn, Ezreal |
| Tank | 24 | Alistar, Braum, Galio |
| Support | 18 | Janna, Lulu, Nami |
| Assassin | 17 | Akali, Fizz, Katarina |
Fighters lead by a wide margin.
Counting secondary tags too, Mage is the most common label (75 champions carry it), because plenty of supports, tanks and assassins deal magic damage. Only 43 champions have a single class and nothing else.
One more quirk from the same data: 145 champions use mana. The rest run on energy like Akali, Lee Sin and Zed, fury, flow or nothing at all. Garen and Katarina, for instance, have no resource bar.
How many champions in LoL do you need for ranked?
You need to own at least 20 champions to queue for ranked. Riot Support lists the other conditions too: summoner level 30 and 10 games played before ranked opens. Free rotation champions don’t count toward the 20.
That rule is where most new players get stuck. The catch is the timing: reaching level 30 takes a while, and buying 20 champions with Blue Essence on top of that takes longer, so many people plan their purchases early. Our Blue Essence calculator shows how far your BE goes. And while you’re short, the weekly free champion rotation lets you try champions before spending anything (new accounts get a separate starter pool until level 11).
Ranked Ready accounts skip that grind. On ours, the 10 normal games are already played, and the random BE balance (from about 3,000 to 50,000, depending on the region) usually covers part of the 20 champions. You can see current regions on the LoL accounts page.
Can you own every champion?
Yes. All 173 can be bought with Blue Essence or RP, and no champion is locked behind an event or a paid pass. New releases cost more for their first weeks and get cheaper later, so a fresh champion like Locke is the most expensive one to buy right after launch.
Should you? Probably not early on. In practice, most players stick to a pool of three to five champions per role, and 173 is a lot to learn. With this many champions in LoL, a random champion picker is a decent way to break the tie when two picks feel equal.
FAQ
How many champions are in LoL in 2026?
There are 173 champions as of October 2026. Locke, released on June 24, 2026, is the newest.
Will there be more champions in 2026?
Riot said Locke would be the only new champion in 2026. No other champion has been announced for this year.
How many champions did LoL launch with?
League of Legends launched on October 27, 2009 with 40 champions. The alpha in February 2009 had 17.
How many champions do you need to play ranked?
You need 20 owned champions, summoner level 30 and 10 games played. Free rotation champions do not count.
Which class has the most champions?
By main class, Fighter has the most with 50 champions, followed by Mage with 35 and Marksman with 29.
Who was the last champion before Locke?
Zaahen, released on November 19, 2025. Before him came Yunara on July 16, 2025.
