Riot Games introduced ranked splits for League of Legends in 2023, increasing the number to three at the start of Season 14. However, some players believe this increased number of splits is intended to make them "grind."

A discussion was sparked by a League player on Reddit on May 15, who asked about the logic behind three ranked splits in one year. They emphasized how frustrated they were that after "working their asses off" to reach Diamond, the rank was reset and they were dropped to Emerald after a few unlucky placement matches. Others in the comments were quick to respond: it's to get you to play more League.

“It’s to increase player engagement but yeah I hate it. […] With constant resets I feel like anyone with a life outside of League is locked into feeling like they’re being randomly demoted every few months,” one player wrote.

It’s hard to disagree with this sentiment. If you don’t play much League, what’s the point of trying to climb the ranked ladder if your progress is about to be reset? Accessing data on how many players are competing in solo queue is impossible unless you’re from Riot Games. As such, it’s impossible to say whether the player base has grown with these additional splits, but judging by some of the reactions on social media, it seems like the change has had the opposite effect.