The League of Legends World Championship is one of the most exciting times of the year in League esports, and for good reason. It’s one of two times a year where fans are treated to world-class players going up against the best international talent.
Hype matchups and emotional storylines make Worlds what it is today, but once the finals come around, real fans know what’s actually at stake: who gets the Worlds skins and what will they look like?
On Nov. 6, Edward Gaming and DWG KIA will clash in the Worlds 2021 grand final for the right to the Summoner’s Cup, and a chance to help design cool skins for their team. Upcomer’s Nick Ray (in favor of EDG) and Tom Matthiesen (in favor of DWG KIA) take a crack at imagining what EDG and DWG KIA Worlds 2021 skins could look like, and more importantly, which ones would look the coolest.
DWG KIA Worlds 2021 skin concept
The white and blue of Damwon Gaming’s Worlds 2020 skin have a divine aesthetic, as if ancient gods have descended on earth. Now the team is known as DWG KIA and has some fierce black incorporated into its logo. I hope that the skins leave the white this year, and go in hard on the black and blue. For inspiration, I’m going to suggest something completely unrelated to video games or divinity. I hope Riot draws inspiration from a bird.
Yes, it is the Vogelkop, superb bird of paradise, whose looks I hope to see reflected in League of Legends if DWG KIA hoists the trophy this year. This little fellow has not only mastered the art of flight, it has also mastered the art of showing off. Once it has found the right female, the little fellow pops up its feathers and turns into a black abyss with beautiful blue touches, while gracefully dancing around the female.
But, rather than using the stylish black and blue for love, the League of Legends champions would obviously use their looks to establish domination and strike fear into opponents. I’d hope that, whenever a DWG KIA Worlds champion uses their ultimate ability, the blue sections light up like stars in a pitch-black night sky.
As for the champions I want to see DWG KIA’s players choose, I simply hope they’ll choose champions that don’t have a world championship skin yet.
For Khan, this would mean Graves, Lucian, Jayce or Gwen. My preference would be Jayce, as I like playing the champion a lot. Canyon’s unique choices are Qiyana, Xin Zhao, Trundle and Poppy. How cool would it be if Poppy’s ultimate opened up a literal canyon as it ruptures the earth before sending her opponents flying? ShowMaker’s iconic Syndra was featured in the Worlds 2021 song Burn It All Down, but it already has a world championship skin from when Faker chose the champion. I hope he goes for Kassadin, and I believe he is a big fan of the champion as well.
Ghost has played five champions so far at Worlds 2021, including Jhin, for whom he earned a skin last year. The four other champions he fielded are Miss Fortune, Ziggs, Draven and Aphelios. Ziggs would be a pretty disappointing pick, since it’s such a boring champion for a bot laner to play. No, I hope Ghost puts Draven, the Glorious Executioner, on top of his list.
Lastly, BeryL’s played champions that don’t have a skin already are Maokai, Yuumi, Lulu, Rell and Pyke. First and foremost: screw Yuumi. Between the others, either Pyke or Rell would be fitting. Rell is a champion I personally love to play, but Pyke would fit well with the theme I hope Riot goes for. An assassin dressed in black and blue, with a huge bright blue cross marking his enemies for death? Yes, please.
— Matthiesen
Edward Gaming Worlds 2021 skin concept
Not to commit the grave sin of getting my hopes up for EDG but if they do win worlds, not only will it be an impeccable achievement for the org, but we might just get the coolest set of championship skins we’ve seen in a long time.
Previous League of Legends Pro League champs, Invictus Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix, have opted for more uniform looks with both traditional and modern inspiration. While they’re probably the most unique sets in terms of design, how many times have we seen red and white colorway? Or that same tired regal look? EDG legitimately have a real chance to differentiate themselves here.
Black remains a favorite color choice among even the most cutting-edge esports orgs, but few championship teams have opted for darker themes for their victory skins. So, for EDG, I’m envisioning a sleek and modern techwear-inspired look for the skins to draw off EDG’s cool black and maroon colors, paying homage to the LPL’s fashion-forward style.
Starting in the top lane, Flandre has played Graves (lots of Graves), Gwen, Jax, Kennen and Jayce during Worlds. Personally, I think Gwen would be the best fit for this because it’s a unique take on her character design; her quirky vibe would mellow out into something cool and mysterious. She also only has one skin right now; what better time than Worlds to change that?
Next up is Zhao “JieJie” Li-Jie. The young jungler has picked five different champions this tournament: Jarvan IV, Lee Sin, Olaf, Xin Zhao and Talon. This one is obvious; Talon’s entire aesthetic screams techwear, and who wouldn’t want to parkour around Summoner’s Rift decked out in all black? It’s like something straight out of an Adidas commercial.
Lee “Scout” Ye-chan has played a staggering 11 unique champions at Worlds 2021, but rather than listing them all, I’ve narrowed it down to two choices: Syndra and Malzahar. Syndra would obviously be a popular choice, but the sleek and urban techwear look clashes a bit with her regal and dignified design. Not to mention she already has a Worlds skin. Malzahar is definitely a layup, but that’s because he fits the bill perfectly. He’s already got the hood and has never been picked for a Worlds skin before.
Lastly, the duo of bot laner Park “Viper” Do-hyeon and support Tian “Meiko” Ye have two of the most exciting picks to choose from. For Viper, it’s the pool of Lucian, Ezreal, Miss Fortune, Jhin, Aphelios, Kai’Sa and Jinx. I’d go with Aphelios here because have you seen this man? Targon’s resident sad boy only has two skins currently, so maybe it’s about time he got some extra love.
Lastly, Meiko has the toughest set of options compared to his teammates. Having played Nami, Yuumi, Lulu, Leona, Braum, Nautilus and Rakan, the skin really has to go to either Leona or Rakan in my opinion. Leona recently received her first Worlds skin for DWG KIA, and another one wouldn’t hurt, but I’m not sure she fits the theme as well as Rakan, who has two Worlds skins already. Rakan wins out here, mostly because he’d look better in a hood and loose pants.
In terms of how they’d all look, it’s hard to go wrong here. If Riot works closely with the players and a fashion expert, anything they come up with for this tame-yet-unique skinline would be a winner for some.
— Ray
