In League of Legends (LoL), Champion Mastery is a progression system that keeps track of your play time and performance with each champion.
Put simply, it's a representation of your time investment (not necessarily your skill) in a certain champion. Playing games with a champion raises their mastery level; the more you play (and the better you get), the more Mastery Points you get to level up. Reaching specific milestones unlocks incentives and recognition, such as unique emotes that showcase your mastery in-game, such as the well-known Champion Mastery flare or "bubble."
The Champion Mastery system was introduced in 2015 as a way to reward players for specializing in their favorite champions. It first went live on the Brazilian server in Patch 5.6 and rolled out to all regions by Patch 5.8. Initially, the system included Mastery levels 1 through 5, each achieved by accumulating a set amount of Mastery Points on a champion. Riot later expanded the system – Mastery levels 6 and 7 were added in Patch 6.10. These higher levels required not just points but also special Marks of Mastery (earned by getting high post-game grades) to unlock.
Champion Mastery doesn’t directly affect gameplay power or balance. Instead, it’s a long-term progression and bragging-rights system that runs parallel to other progression tracks. It becomes available once your account reaches Summoner level 5, so new players unlock it early on as they learn the game. From that point forward, every match you play with a champion contributes to that champion’s mastery.
Over time, you’ll level up your mastery and earn cosmetic rewards – for example, your champion’s Mastery badge/crest upgrades at higher levels, and you can showcase it on your profile, in loading screens, or via the in-game emote. Unlike seasonal ranked rewards (which reset every year), your champion mastery level is persistent and never resets. However, the system has evolved to include seasonal splits that refresh certain mastery milestones and rewards in an attempt to keep the experience fresh year-round.
In short, Champion Mastery provides a sense of progression for playing your favorite champions, rewarding you with recognition as you improve and play them more.
Champion Mastery levels in League of Legends reflect your experience and performance with a specific champion. As of Patch 14.10, the system allows for progression beyond level 10, with each level requiring a combination of Mastery Points (MP) and Marks of Mastery.
Mastery Points are earned by playing games with the champion, with higher grades yielding more points. Grades are assigned based on your performance compared to other players using the same champion in the same role. Playing with premade parties can also provide bonus MP.
To progress beyond certain levels, you'll need to earn Marks of Mastery:
Marks are obtained by completing Mastery Milestones, which involve achieving specific grades in games with the champion. Each split, the milestone progress resets, allowing for fresh opportunities to earn Marks and showcase your mastery.
This system encourages consistent performance and provides a structured path for players to demonstrate their dedication to mastering a champion.
Champion Mastery isn’t just about numbers, it comes with in-game rewards that let you show off your progress. These rewards are purely cosmetic, but they’re designed to signal your experience to other players in and out of matches. Bragging rights, basically.
They are most useful when trying to verify the authority of a onetrick in something like a Discord server that verifies mastery. Regardless, there are definitely people who still underperform with millions of points, and people who excel on low mastery.
Each mastery level comes with a different crest, a kind of visual badge that evolves as you level up. You’ll first see this in your profile, but once you hit Mastery Level 4, that crest starts appearing on the loading screen when a game starts. By Mastery Level 5 and above, that crest also appears in other places, like the death recap, scoreboard, and sometimes kill announcements. Riot refers to this broader display as “crest highlighting”.
The most visible form of mastery in-game is the Champion Mastery Emote, often called the mastery bubble. You can trigger it manually with a hotkey (default: Ctrl+6) during a game. It floats above your champion’s head for a moment and shows the current mastery crest. Players typically use it to flex after big plays, or, sometimes, just to BM.
The emote updates to reflect your current Mastery crest, so players at level 7 (or higher, now that the cap has been removed) have a more ornate version than those at lower levels. These visuals are automatically updated as your mastery progresses, no need to equip or unlock anything manually.
The Champion Mastery system includes seasonal milestones and personalized Mastery Sets to encourage diverse gameplay and reward consistent performance.
At the start of each ranked season, players receive a Mastery Set, a curated list of 10 champions tailored to their playstyle. This set typically includes:
You can view your current Mastery Set in the Collection > Champions tab.
Progressing with champions in your Mastery Set allows you to complete milestones, which grant various rewards:
Completing Mastery milestones also contributes to Battle Pass progression, offering Battle Pass XP (BXP) for each milestone achieved. This system encourages players to engage with a variety of champions and roles.
How do you flash mastery in LoL?
Press Ctrl+6 during a match with a level 4+ champion to show your mastery emote.
How many mastery points per game?
Most games give 300–1,000+ points depending on grade, win/loss, and performance.
Can you gain mastery with free champions?
Yes, up to level 5. To unlock levels 6 and higher, you must own the champion.
Do custom games give mastery points?
No. Only Normal, ARAM, and Ranked games give mastery points, not customs or bots
How do I disable mastery flashing?
You can mute somebody's emotes during the Tab menu in-game, right next to the button that allows you to chat mute them.
Champion Mastery doesn’t change how strong your champion is, but it changes how you feel playing them. It’s a system that rewards consistency, recognizes skill, and adds personality to your in-game presence.
Thanks to the new marks of mastery system, seasonal milestones, and mastery sets, the system’s no longer just about raw point totals. Now it also tracks performance and engagement across seasons, giving returning players fresh goals to chase, even if they’ve already hit high mastery levels.
If you’re trying to climb the ladder, mastery won’t win the game for you. So don't get intimidated when you see your lane opponent has millions of points in their champion. Keep in mind that the highest mastery Garen player is hard stuck bronze.
