Behind The Scenes – No MoCap, No AI

League Of Legends Worlds 2025 – Opening Ceremony

League of Legends stands as one of the largest online games globally. Since its launch in 2009, it has grown to captivate over 150 million active players worldwide. Each year, the world's elite teams compete for the Summoner's Cup in the World Championship. Often hailed as the "Super Bowl of gaming," this live event gathers thousands of fans in a major arena - hosted in 2025 in Chengdu, China - while capturing the attention of millions via global online streams. For the 2025 Opening Ceremony, we created all of the animated LED content. This amounted to 15 minutes of high-end animation at a staggering total resolution of 140 megapixels — most notably on the gigantic 12K main LED, measuring 20m x 45m. We loved every minute of working on this project.

The Countdown

It’s 4:00 PM in Chengdu, China. Inside the Dong'an Lake Sports Park Arena, nearly 20,000 people are waiting for one of the biggest eSports events on the planet to begin. They are joined by millions of fans worldwide, watching on phones, computers, and even in cinemas broadcasting live from China.

Seconds remain until the show starts - but this is no ordinary opening. It marks the 15th anniversary of the League of Legends World Championship. For this milestone, we didn’t just create a countdown; we crafted a tribute to fifteen years of legacy.

Visually, the countdown is centered around the Glaive: a mighty weapon forged from special glass. Across its translucent surface, we embedded the most iconic moments in Worlds history. It is a rush of memories designed to ignite the crowd, build anticipation, and carry fans right to the moment the lights go up and the show begins.

Act I – starring Chrissy Costanza

With every step Chrissy Costanza takes, the floor beneath her responds - literally revealing the LED canvas piece by piece. The runway transforms into a proliferating path of crystals. When Chrissy reaches out, dark, jagged shards to her left and right ignite in sequence. These massive LED monoliths display iconic moments from LoL Worlds' history, fueling the crowd’s anticipation.

Just before the song’s crescendo, the crystal formations surge forward into the massive black void ahead — revealing the colossal main stage. Virtual structures rise into towering crystals, displaying larger-than-life footage of the two finalist teams. The spectacle isn't limited to the screens: the players themselves rise from the depths of the stage into position, synced perfectly with the LEDs unveiling the grand trophy in all its glory.

But the moment is fleeting—the final battle has not yet begun. The arena fades back into darkness, setting the stage for Act II.

The shards draw our attention again: they are now covered with dancers dressed entirely in black. Pulled into the intensity of TEYA’s performance and the drive of the song, the shards suddenly ignite. Each reveals its own distinct ink-and-prophecy wall texture while lights and lasers erupt across the space. The dancers collapse to the ground as spell-like symbols flare beneath them — each one inspired by in-game animations, reimagined in a handcrafted, stylized form.

Meanwhile, something begins to shift on the main screen. Ink is drawn from the vignetted borders inward, pulled by an unseen force toward the center. Gradually, the fluid lines form a massive figure: Atakhan.

Act III

A single spotlight lights up the center of the runway and a well know voice fills the room. It’s G.E.M. the chinese superstar, performing a brand new song called “Sacrifice”, which is the offical song of the League of Legends Worlds 2025. As she sings, something is happening on the main LED wall. The ink that darkened all the LED surfaces just seconds ago, is now melting down and reveals a whole new scenery.

A desert. In the distance we discover a man, standing still, his back turned to us. He holds a spear. As G.E.M continues to perform her song, he kneels down to the ground. We reconize the man as LoL champion Xin Zhao. But something else happens as well. The song is evolving into an unheard, new version of it, as suddenly world famous DJ ANYMA is lifting from below the main stage on a plattform.

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