Former League of Legends pro joins Riot as a dev, and it's a step in the right direction

I'm starting to believe in League of Legends again. While I think that 2024 and 2025 have somewhat confused the MOBA's overarching identity, 2026 feels like it could be a much-needed turning point. With League Next - a colossal new update that feels like a sequel - lurking on the horizon, and fewer champions releasing per year as a result of Riot's attempts to really go in and fix the game, it feels like a step in the right direction. Despite major layoffs, however, the company has hired some serious talent over the past few months - including some star-studded additions to its MMO team. The latest addition to the crew, however, is former LCS star turned streamer William 'Meteos' Hartman, who has joined LoL's Gameplay Analysis Team.

As someone who constantly daydreams about the Golden Era of esports, I'm far too familiar with Meteos. While G2 Esports and Fnatic have always been my EMEA duo (briefly dethroned by Los Ratones), Cloud9 have always been one of my favorite LCS teams. I own an OG Puma collab hoodie from far too many years ago (it's still one of the warmest hoodies I own), and I remember the good ol' days of Meteos, Jeong 'Impact' Eon-young, Nicolaj 'Jensen' Jensen, Zach 'Sneaky' Scuderi, and Andy 'Smoothie' Ta. Man, the 2010s really were a time.

Meteos transitioned to full-time streaming back in 2023 after brief stints with the likes of 100 Thieves and Flyquest, and has since amassed over 500,000 followers on Twitch. His content is, as you likely expect, primarily League of Legends, and has leveled up significantly from the video below (don't you all love a blast from the past?).

As of March 2, 2026, however, Meteos has a slightly different job. "Today was my first day on the Gameplay Analysis Team at Riot!" he writes on X. "I'll be playtesting and giving feedback for new changes coming to League. Excited to work with and learn from all the talented designers at Riot."

In an interview with Building Better Games, former senior QA manager at Riot (now director of QA at Singularity 6), Nathan Tiras, describes the Gameplay Analysis Team as "pseudo-design adjacent." The team effectively playtests different champions, with Tiras noting that it "could actually predict champion win rates on release… based strictly on their play testing experience of that champion in development." Given Meteos' pro background, then, this feels like it makes a lot of sense.

This isn't the first time this has happened, either. Prominent LCS caster David 'Phreak' Turley joined Riot as a game designer at the tail-end of 2022, although his balance changes have consistently received a lukewarm response. Based on Tiras' comments, however, Meteos likely won't be as front-facing, so probably won't be subjected to the same backlash as his LCS colleague.

I'd argue that hiring ex-pros is a positive, though: they know how the game plays at the highest level, and fully understand the inner workings of what makes a champion good or bad. If Riot continues to really tap into the community it has - whether that's by hiring or being more open with its communication and playtesting - I really do think it'll stand it in better stead, and hopefully even out some of League's ongoing balance issues ahead of whatever comes next.