In its early days, League of Legends was known for its slower, more methodical gameplay, with matches often focusing on strategic farming and careful lane management. However, as the game evolved, Riot Games introduced new champions and continuously refined balance with patches, shifting the dynamics of gameplay. This evolution led to the emergence of faster-paced, more aggressive strategies. Teams and players adapted by adopting high-risk, high-reward tactics, leading to an increase in action and, consequently, higher kill counts. Nowadays, the game is characterized by intense, high-energy matches where spectacularly high kill totals have become a thrilling hallmark of competitive play.

Kalista, a champion to set kill records

The kill record in one game by a single player is held by Apostolis "Druxy" Kabosos and his Kalista with 30 kills in GL2D 2024 Spring Playoffs (Greece second division). The botlaner made a statement in game 4 versus Silent Revolution Gaming. The record is quite impressive as the game only lasted 29min19sec. He managed to get ahead extremely early in the game and punished severely every mistake done by the enemy's botlane and jungle who accumulated 34 deaths at the end of the game. A funny statistic is he isn't the one with the most damage in the game (51.285 damages to champions) as the enemy Kog'Maw outclasses him with his 55.351 damages.

The kill record in a single international game at MSI 2024 is held by Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan and his Kalista getting 28 kills and a pentakill with Gen.G at the very end of game 2 against BiliBili Gaming in the grand final. This performance was pretty spectacular as the player was only 18 years old and that there was a lot of pressure in this final where the two first seeds of LCK and LPL clashed for there first international title. In the end, this performance almost ensured Gen.G's victory in the tournament, but it also set the highest kill record in any major league.

It is interesting to note the records are quite recent and some observers would say they are the result of a "kill inflation" as the game has become more fast-paced. This follows Riot Games plan to continue making the game as fresh and entertaining as possible since its release in 2009. We can still expect kill records to be broken as there will always be newly designed champions with kits that will necessarily surpass elder ones.