The LoL community has expressed disappointment with the shallow narrative of the Worlds 2024 anthem, with some calling it disrespectful to T1.
League of Legends (LoL) has officially launched the Worlds 2024 anthem, "Heavy is The Crown," on Sept. 24, in collaboration with Linkin Park. The song quickly gained massive interest from the community, partly due to Linkin Park's comeback and announcement of a new lead singer followed by a world tour.
Leading up to the release, LoL had been teasing Linkin Park’s involvement in this year's Worlds anthem with visible social media interactions, sparking rumors and building significant hype. The song's premiere on YouTube reportedly drew 200,000 concurrent viewers and almost 10 million views within the first 24 hours.
However, the community reactions have been mixed, with many expressing disappointment, particularly with the music video. Comments across YouTube and social media point out dissatisfaction with how T1’s journey as the 2023 World Champions was portrayed in the video.
Shallow narrative compared to previous anthems
Critics within the community have noted that the music video lacks the in-depth narrative seen in the Worlds 2023 anthem, "GODS" by NewJeans, which highlighted Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu's ups and downs in his professional journey. Fans believe that T1, having finally secured their fourth championship title after seven years, has many stories worth exploring.
Many fans are also not pleased with the focus on Linkin Park in the video, as they had hoped for a greater emphasis on Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and T1. This contrasts with how LoL previously spotlighted Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong in "Rise" in Worlds 2018 and Deft in the aforementioned 2023 anthem.
T1’s journey at Worlds 2023 was nothing short of dramatic, being the last League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) team standing against four League of Legends Pro League (LPL) teams on their home turf. The tournament was filled with many mind-blowing moments — Faker's Azir ultimate predicting JDG Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk’s Flash, Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong's Varus 1v2 outplay against JDG Ruler and Top Esports Bai "369" Jia-Hao369, as well as his 1v1 against LNG Chen "GALA" Wei. Other highlights include Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun’s Rell Flash ultimate engage against JDG Lou "MISSING" Yun-Feng’s Ashe arrow, and Choi "Zeus" Woo-je’s incredible 1v4 against WBG in the final match of Worlds 2023 — that could have made it to the Worlds 2024 anthem.
LoL esports and T1 fans have high expectations for this year's Worlds anthem, especially after the impressive representation of T1 and Faker in the Worlds 2023 teasers. Many believe that Riot Games could have delivered a stronger narrative, similar to their previous productions like "Faker: A Decade of Greatness" and "Hall of Legends: Faker."
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Featured players are hard to distinguish
Additional criticism has been directed toward the representation of players in the video, especially those from the Peacekeeper Elite League (PEL) and LCK regions. Aside from the five T1 players, viewers have pointed out that many of the featured players are difficult to distinguish from Deft, leading to confusion among fans.
Despite the backlash toward the music video, fans have praised the song for its energetic vibe. Linkin Park is set to perform "Heavy is The Crown" at the League of Legends Worlds 2024 Grand Finals on Nov. 2 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Stay tuned on esports.gg for more LoL Worlds 2024 news and updates.
