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You put in the hours. You know your matchups, your champion pool is locked in, and you're sitting somewhere between Silver and Platinum, not because you've hit a ceiling, but because ranked doesn't pay you for finishing 2nd in a game you outplayed. If you've ever searched how to make money playing League of Legends, you already know the three answers everyone gives. Time to dismiss them fast and talk about the one that actually works.
Streaming needs an audience, typically 12+ months of zero income before you see a dollar. Coaching is a real market, but almost exclusively above Diamond where players will pay for your expertise. Account leveling violates Riot’s ToS and comes with permanent ban risk. If you feel the same, you should definitely give Amber.gg a try!
Competitive gaming with real money on the line isn't reserved for pros. Skill-based prize pool ladders are now built around rank-based matchmaking. Silver players compete against Silver players, Gold against Gold. You're not entering a free-for-all where a Diamond smurf farms your entry fee.
The bar isn't being the best player on the planet. It's being consistently better than the players at your level over a ladder cycle. That's an achievable target if you've ever climbed a single tier in ranked.
If you've pulled yourself from Silver 4 to Gold 1 or even just held your rank over a season, you already demonstrated the ability to outperform players at your tier consistently. That's exactly what prize pool ladders measure.
You don't need a 70% win rate against Challengers. You need to win more than you lose against players who are the same rank as you. The ranked improvement principles that drive LP gains and the skills you need to win a ladder cycle are the same thing. The difference is one has a prize pool.
The async ladder format removes every barrier that makes competitive play feel inaccessible.
No team. No fixed schedule. No 9 PM Discord call. You join a ladder cycle: daily, weekly, or monthly and play your matches whenever your queue is open (Solo/Duo, Flex, etc). If you're logging 5–15 hours a week on ranked, you're already doing the work. You're just not getting paid for it.
Your main champion pool is your competitive edge here. Lock in what you know, play the matchups you've practiced, and let your skill do the work.
Prize pool ladders run across multiple entry tiers:
Start with a free ladder on Amber.gg. Free ticket entries give you a real competitive experience, ranked matchmaking, live leaderboard and rewards on the line, without any deposit. When you're comfortable with the format, scaling up is one entry fee away.
This is the number one concern when people consider prize pool competitions for the first time. The answer is structural: rank-gated matchmaking means your pool is defined by your tier.
The platform's approach to competitive integrity and fair prize pool challenges is built around exactly this problem. Smurfs don't belong in your ladder, and the system is designed to keep it that way. You're competing on a level playing field.
Your champion pool is your competitive asset, but only if it's aligned with the current patch.
Amber.gg's LoL meta hub tracks builds, runes, and tier rankings updated each patch. Before registering for a ladder cycle, run your mains through the current meta, especially after major updates that shift the competitive landscape like the recent ranked system changes. A 5-minute meta check before queuing is free edge.
Join a free ladder on Amber.gg, no deposit, no entry fee. Just your skills and a real prize pool. If you want to go further, a first deposit of €10 unlocks a €5 bonus to boost your prize pool on the first paid cycle.
Join the community on Discord to find active ladder cycles and connect with players at your level.
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