High Elo Gets a Fresh Start: Riot's Apex Tiers Reset Explained

A mid-season ranked reset is one of the rarest things Riot Games will ever do, and they know it.

But with the state of the Apex ladders spiraling out of control in NA, EUW, EUNE, BR, LAN, and TR, Riot decided that a hard reset coming in Patch 26.9 was the only real fix.

Affected players in Master and above will have their visible rank and MMR reset to Master 0 LP when the patch goes live.

Why the Ladder Broke in the First Place

The chaos traces back to the MMR-to-Rank redistribution update that pushed a wave of high-Diamond players into Master earlier this season.

That single change blew the skill gap inside Master wide open. On NA, top players in Grandmaster were seeing average LP swings of +10 for a win and a punishing -30 for a loss, while EUW's Grandmaster cutoff had already climbed past 1,025 LP.

The ladder became a treadmill, and players grinding their hardest were barely moving.

The LP Math Is Changing Too

Alongside the reset, Riot is overhauling how LP gains and losses work at the top. The new baseline will be plus or minus 30 LP per game, with expected swings landing between +35/-25 and +25/-35 depending on your MMR alignment. The current Challenger LP cutoff of 500 LP is also getting raised, with the reset setting new minimums at 800 LP for Challenger and 400 LP for Grandmaster.

The reasoning is straightforward: early-season winstreaks were letting players rocket past 500 LP before the ladder had time to stabilize, cheapening the Challenger achievement for everyone who earned it the hard way.

Rewards Will Not Leave Anyone Behind

Riot anticipated that a mid-season reset would stress players out about their end-of-year rewards, and they addressed it head-on.

Season 1 rewards will be distributed as usual, but Season 3 will serve as a final reconciliation pass for Season 2 rewards for Apex tiers players in affected regions. Even better, if you hit a higher rank in Season 3 than you did in Season 2, that higher rank counts as your reward for both seasons.

Hit Master in Season 2 but Grandmaster in Season 3? You walk away with Grandmaster rewards for both.

A Drastic Move, But a Necessary One

Riot was transparent about how rare and uncomfortable a mid-season reset is, calling it "an exceedingly rare event we'll always avoid." But the feedback from the community, through surveys, comments, and shared experiences, painted a clear picture of a ladder that had lost its integrity.

More breakpoints within the Apex ladders are also planned for 2027, signaling that this reset is the short-term fix while a deeper structural solution is already in the works. Patch 26.9 drops on April 29, 2026.

Don't forget to follow Strafe Esports for the latest news on your favorite esports titles, and check out our X profile for the most recent content and coverage.

Also, stay tuned to the Strafe YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and much more.

Featured Image Credit: Riot Games

Read More:

League of Legends Season 2 Update Teases WASD to Ranked, Role Quest Changes, Arena Updates and More

New Pandemonium Theme Arrives for League of Legends 2026 Season 2