Few things in League feel worse than losing a game you were winning by thousands of gold. And it happens constantly: one team builds a big lead, then spends twenty minutes giving it back through picks, bad Baron calls and chases into fog of war. In solo queue, closing out games is a skill — and most players never practise it.
This guide explains why leads get thrown, the rules that stop it, and how to actually end a game once you're ahead.
Why Winning Teams Throw
A lead makes the game feel safe, so players relax. They chase kills deeper than they should, split up to farm, and start fights without vision because "we're ahead anyway". The losing team, meanwhile, has nothing to lose: they group, ward, and wait for one mistake. One caught player can turn into a lost fight, a lost Baron and a lost game — especially later on, when death timers are long.
The key idea: when you're ahead, the enemy needs you to make a mistake. Don't give them one.
7 Rules for Closing Out Games
Turn Every Won Fight Into an Objective
After a won fight, don't chase the survivors. Take what's free: a tower, a dragon, Baron or an inhibitor. Gold from structures goes to the whole team, and every tower you take makes the next one easier and the enemy's map smaller.
Stay Grouped Once You're Ahead
Your advantage is strongest when your team is together. Five players who are ahead beat five players who are behind; one player who's ahead can still lose to three. If you split, do it with vision and a clear plan — not because there's a wave you want.
Never Face-Check Bushes Late in the Game
Walking into an unwarded bush with your carry is how leads die. Ward it, sweep it, or send the tankiest player first. A late-game death timer can be long enough for the enemy to take Baron and push a lane.
Take Baron With Vision and Numbers
The best time to start Baron is right after you kill two or more enemies, or when the enemy is shown far away. Ward around the pit and clear their wards first. Starting Baron "to see if they come" with no vision is one of the most common throws in solo queue.
Push Side Waves Before Grouping
Before you group for an objective or a siege, push the side lanes toward the enemy base. Now the enemy has to choose: defend their towers or contest you. Either choice gives you something. See the wave management guide for how to do it.
Siege, Don't Dive
Diving five players into a full-health team under their inhibitor tower throws away the advantage you spent the game building. Use the Baron buff and the minion waves to take towers slowly, and fight only when the enemy steps up to stop you.
Reset After Every Push
Once your wave and Baron buff run out, back off, recall and buy. Staying in the enemy base with low health and no wave is how a won push becomes an ace for the enemy.
How to Use Baron to End
Baron Nashor's buff makes nearby minions much stronger. That's its real value: it lets your team take towers with minions doing the work. To get the most from it:
- Recall right after taking Baron, buy items and come back together.
- Push the side waves while walking to the main lane.
- Siege one lane with the empowered wave; take the tower when the enemy can't stop it.
- When the buff runs low, move to the next lane or reset.
Elder Dragon, later in the game, is just as decisive: it can win a teamfight on its own. Treat it like Baron — vision first, then take it when the enemy can't contest.
The Classic Throws
Chasing into fog of war: following a low-health enemy past their tower or through their jungle without vision.
The lonely side lane: your carry farms a side wave alone with no ward, gets caught, and the enemy starts Baron while you're 4v5.
The hopeful Baron: starting Baron with the enemy team alive, healthy and unaccounted for.
Ignoring inhibitors: taking an inhibitor and then walking away to farm, letting it respawn without using the super minions it unlocked.
A useful check before any play when you're ahead: "If this goes wrong, do we lose the game?" If the answer is yes — a late Baron with no vision, a dive into a full team — wait for a better moment. Being ahead means you can afford to be patient. The enemy can't.
When You're the Team Behind
The same rules work in reverse. If you're behind, stay grouped, keep your waves pushed, ward around Baron and Elder, and wait. Most solo queue games are thrown by the team that's ahead — your job is to still be in the game when it happens, not to force a fight you'll lose. Staying calm helps too: the guide to tilt covers that side of it.
Climb Faster
Closing out games is one of the fastest ways to turn your current play into LP — the wins you were already earning stop slipping away. For the rest of the fundamentals, see the 10 tips to climb faster and why players get hardstuck.
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