League of Legends' 1v1 and 2v2 Showdown Mode is Coming to Custom Games

It’s time for League of Legends players to back up their in-game trash talk with the Showdown [...]

League of Legends Jinx Vi
(Photo: Riot Games)

It's time for League of Legends players to back up their in-game trash talk with the Showdown game mode coming soon to League's custom games.

The Showdown game mode allows players to take on opponents in either 1-on-1 or 2-on-2 scenarios, and while some yearly events use the game mode, it isn't a permanent option yet. While it'll take a while to be added to the PBE for testing, it's definitely coming according to an announcement from Riot L4T3NCY.

While 1v1s are currently possible through what L4T3NCY aptly calls a "gentleman's agreement" between players on the Howling Abyss map, the Showdown game mode solidifies the rules to make a definitive case of who's better. The rules could change a bit when it's added to the new client, but win conditions for Showdown include scoring first blood or two kills if playing a 2v2 match, reaching 100 CS first, or getting first turret blood.

Once it's available for everyone, players might have to think twice about their smack talk. Would you really have won your top lane matchup if the enemy jungler hadn't ganked? Could you have beaten their ADC if you support wasn't a noob? You'll have to think twice about typing in /all chat with this game mode being added eventually because you just might be called upon to back up your claims.

However, it'll take a while for the game mode to be added to the PBE. L4T3NCY said that this game mode is quite a bit easier to add to the new client as a permanent game mode since it requires very little upkeep, but gave a warning that "Showdown won't be available anytime soon" in case PBE players start spotting Showdown files.

Of course, with this game mode being added to the custom game selections, that does bring up the question of other rotating game modes being added as well. That's where the minimal upkeep of the game mode comes into play since it doesn't take much to keep updated after each patch whereas other modes would. L4T3NCY said that they don't intend to make other rotating game modes permanently available for customs, but Riot would like to make them available for custom games during the weekend that the rotating game mode is available.

Showdown doesn't have any time frame for its release at the moment, but PBE files will likely be appearing for it leading up to the preseason.

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