Every year since 2014, the League of Legends World Championship has had an official theme song. Some songs were great, some were inspiring, and some were downright legendary. As we await the official LoL Worlds kick-off, we provide you with a list of all the songs Riot Games used as official event anthems.

League of Legends, one of the most popular esports in the world, consists of more than just a game with a competitive league. Developer Riot Games always provides additional lore and content for fans to enjoy. Musical scores and content are a big part of the event ecosystem for LoL events.

We usually focus much on the LoL Worlds Power Rankings and Match Previews, yet with all this serious action happening ahead of Worlds, it’s time we reminisce on the art and creativity going behind the entire League of Legends Worlds experience.

2014 – Warriors by Imagine Dragons

The popular band Imagine Dragons was a great choice for the first LoL Worlds song. Not only were they incredibly well-known outside of gamer circles, but they also signified, at the time, a relatively rare intersection between gamers and other types of pop culture.

Like most of the videos of the following years, an animated music video was created to complement the song itself, featuring players on their journey from playing at home to playing on the world stage. Naturally, the song and video quickly became iconic, and the League community responded incredibly well to this release.

2015 – Worlds Collide by Nicky Taylor

This song was pivotal in many ways. It set the stage for other non-Worlds-related musical projects from Riot, such as “Bring Home The Glory” or “Awakened”. Unlike Warriors and the songs that followed, this one didn’t have a proper animated video. The video for it featured a floating red crystal in which different landmarks, most of them from Central Europe, were reflected.

Due to its lack of proper video, the song faced some criticism. However, the musical tone of synth mixed with bass and a female vocalist proved a solid foundation for other Riot projects like the virtual pop group K/DA that Riot unveiled in 2018.

2016 – Ignite by Zedd

One of the more unique songs that Riot has released, as a LoL Worlds song, Ignite, featured electronic beats and an orchestral arrangement. The animated video that went with the song featured both gamers and strongly stylised versions of in-game characters and fight scenes.

For many, this video was the peak as far as LoL Worlds songs visuals went – its bright and lively animation style was certainly eye-catching. The song features simple lyrics that are easy to remember and sing along to, which is unusual among LoL Worlds songs.

2017 – Legends Never Die by Against the Current & Chrissy Constanza

Legends Never Die is one of the best-known LoL Worlds songs, popular even with esports fans that don’t normally follow League of Legends. It’s very catchy and features a well-animated video showing game characters sparring, training, and exploring different environments, matching the characters’ lore and backstory.

Ashe, Lee Sin, and Garen are featured in the video, making it the only one (other than Worlds Collide) that doesn’t feature players’ journeys to the League of Legends World Championship. For some, this watered down the connection between the song and the competition, while others felt the incredible song/video combination more than made up for it.

2018 – Rise by The Glitch Mob, Mako, and The Word Alive

Rise primarily features Kang ‘Ambition’ Chan-yong’s journey to being a world champ. It artistically depicts the epic battles of the player on his way through the World Championship. The video is full of symbolism from cornfield battles with Perkz, volcano battles against Uzi, and glacier battles against Faker. Ambition meets challenger after challenger during the video until ultimately reaching the Hall of Champions, where his team’s logo and legacy are finally engraved among the historical League of Legends Worlds Champions.

The Korean player started playing pro in November 2011 and showed consistent performances up to his win at Worlds 2017 – the year before the song was released. Ambition retired another season later but remained an active League streamer for Gen.G. Fans wouldn’t have bet on the LoL Worlds pro retiring so soon, but after a successful career and after featuring in the Rise video, he more than earned his retirement!

2019 – Phoenix by Cailin Russo and Chrissy Constanza

For the first time, the 2019 song featured an artist who had already collaborated on a previous LoL Worlds song in 2017. The song was initially delayed due to production issues and wasn’t actually released until weeks into the play-in stage – it was expected before the beginning of that stage.

Along with the song, the 2019 video features stunning visuals – a combination of animation and bits of real-life footage featuring some pro League players. They’re even shown transforming into play characters – specifically, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther, and Song “Rookie” Eui-jin are featured.

2020 – Take Over by Jeremy McKinnon, Max and Henry

The 2020 song is an exciting experience in its entirety. The song itself and the accompanying video were packed with references and vocals reflecting the Take Over theme of Worlds 2020.

Take Over’s music video follows a young player getting coached by none other than Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok himself. Throughout the clip, we can see our protagonist battle famous League of Legends champions personified by the players who made a huge impact on the scene with them. From Xpeke’s Kassadin pick, Mata’s Thresh, and JackeyLove’s Xayah through BeBe’s Caitlyn and Tian’s Leesin, the protagonist battles each World Champion until he ultimately reaches the Summoner Cup itself.

Additionally, every second of the video is filled with easter eggs and humorous messages. From champion names written on the car licence plates to shop signs saying things like: “Irelia’s office”, “Red Buff Hotpot”, and “Sivir’s Pizza Delivery”, the entire video represents League of Legends culture at its fullest. Overall, the Worlds 2020 song has one of the best Worlds music videos produced to date.

2021 – Burn It All Down by Riot Music Team ft. PVRIS

Released one week ahead of Worlds 2021, Burn it All Down was written and produced by the Riot Music Team, Alex Seaver (Mako). The vocals were performed by PVRIS as the featured artist.

The music video is similar in concept to 2020’s Take Over, featuring various active LoL Esports players. We are guided through it by following Heo “ShowMaker” Su as he goes through a series of scenes with various players, all practising and preparing for what is ultimately Worlds 2021. The list of featured players is absolutely mind-boggling, featuring: ShowMaker, Chovy, Rekkles, Wunder, Carzzy, TheShy, Viper, GALA, Blaber, PowerOfEvil, Hans Sama, Armut, Peanut, Gori, Summit, Clid, and we definitely missed some and will need to re-watch it ten more times.

2022 – Lil Nas X – STAR WALKIN’ prod. by Cirkut, Omer Fedi, and Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X’s Worlds 2022 song was released one week before kick-off, similar to 2021. There was a short pre-taser featuring Lil Nas X as president of League of Legends. Produced by Cirkut and Omer Fedi, the song is less energetic than previous iterations, with fans commenting on it as needing an orchestral remake.

The music video features various storylines centred around Worlds 2022 and the host cities, with players and fans both featured throughout the video. The ending culminates with an all-out brawl between players and their champions in front of the Chase Center in San Francisco.

2023 – GODS ft. NewJeans (뉴진스) prod. by Sebastien Najand and Alex Seaver of Mako

The LoL 2023 Worlds Song is performed by K-pop group NewJeans and was officially released on October 4. The music video is built around Deft’s journey to his 2022 Worlds title, showcasing all his appearances on the international stages throughout his career.

Check out our breakdown of the video in our dedicated article.

NewJeans is a South Korean girl group formed by the entertainment company ADOR, and it’s composed of five members: Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. They debuted in 2022 with the single “Attention”, but the songs that allowed them to really gain popularity and become the new rising stars were “Ditto”, “OMG”, and “Super Shy”. NewJeans’ music is close to 1990s- and 2000s-indebted pop and R&B, and it’s “soft, contained, and delicate”, according to critic Minsoo Joshua Kim.

2024 – Heavy is the Crown by Linkin Park

The 2024 Worlds song was released on September 24, and as anticipated by some rumors, Linkin Park was the artist behind the new song.

After making a return with a new singer, Emily Armstrong, the Worlds song titled “Heavy is the Crown“ is part of their upcoming album, From Zero.

Below is the release video for your pleasure:

2025 – Sacrifice by G.E.M.

Released October 13, 2025, “Sacrifice” is the Worlds anthem sung by G.E.M., pairing soaring vocals with a cosmic, star-lit cinematic. Riot Games’ official video leans into devotion and grit a day before Worlds begins, marking LoL Esports’ 15th year with crisp production and global reach after a brief delay. The release followed edits to remove FlyQuest top laner Bwipo from the cut, but the finished video lands big on nostalgia. It shows recreations of Faker’s iconic Azir shuffle, TheShy’s Aatrox dunk against G2, Caps’ Ashe arrow steal, and a moving final tribute to Season 1 champion Shushei. Overall, it frames 15 years of Worlds history.

League of Legends Worlds songs lyrics

If you’ve just finished watching the music videos and want to go deeper into the words behind the anthems, here’s a full collection of League of Legends song lyrics. From the earliest Worlds themes to the most recent releases, this section includes all LoL Worlds songs’ lyrics—perfect for reading along, finding your favorite lines, or just appreciating the storytelling behind the music. Here’s the Lyrics to GODS ft New Jeans for you to sing along:

‘Sacrifice’ by G.E.M

Verse 1

What’s in your heart? What’s left to give? When everything’s broken Chasing the wind Under those scars, there’s a lion within Stay in the moment And history lasts because you wrote it

Chorus

Make your whole life worth the Sacrifice Every scream you cry worth the blood you’ve given To bathe in the floodlights, would you Sacrifice it all? (Oh, it all) ‘Till they know your name (Oh) Would you Sacrifice It All? (Oh) Would you Sacrifice It All?

Verse 2

Fabled the ground below your feet The heroes you worship And legends you read There’s only one step below eternity And history lasts because you walked it

Chorus

Make your whole life worth the Sacrifice Every scream they cry worth the blood you’ve given To bathe in the floodlights, would you Sacrifice it all? (Oh, it all) ‘Till they know your name (Oh) Would you Sacrifice It All? (Oh) Would you Sacrifice It All? (Oh) Would you Sacrifice It All? (Oh, it all) ‘Till they know your name

References

1. LIL NAS X TAKES OVER AS PRESIDENT OF LEAGUE OF LEGENDS | WORLDS 2022 (YouTube)