Player ranking is a common feature of competitive online games, but little research work has closely examined the ways it mediates player practices within this game genre. In this paper, we present a qualitative study of player practices around ranking in League of Legends (LoL), published by Riot Games and currently one of the most popular eSports games. We found that ranking is a cornerstone of LoL's competitive gaming practices, shaping the ways players distinguished and narrated their game experiences, thus engendering a culture of collaboration and competition through distinction.
['Yubo Kou', 'Xinning Gui', 'Yong Ming Kow']
Ranking Practices and Distinction in League of Legends