It Turns Out Faker Was “Pranked” by Riot
As known, Faker was rumored to have switched from choosing Ahri for the 2023 Worlds skin to Orianna. Instead, the fox champion was transformed into his Hall of Legends skin. Many conspiracy theories were drawn up, such as Orianna being linked to memories of Faker’s grandmother or the “Demon King” agreeing to switch after learning about the HoL skin. However, recently, Riot denied all of this.
According to Riot, they had planned for HoL Ahri and the skin Faker would choose to be directed only towards Orianna or Azir. However, when Faker came to discuss the skin design, Riot let him present his entire idea about Ahri, leading him to believe that it would be his Worlds skin.
“We didn’t rush to tell Faker right away but let him present all his ideas about his Ahri skin. We took note of everything. But we also mentioned Orianna and Azir in a way like, ‘You’ve played these champions very well, how will you honor them?'” From there, we allowed Faker to present on Orianna,” said Stephanie Leung, Riot’s skin design manager for League of Legends.
However, according to Stephanie, they later decided to fully inform Faker about the HoL skin. All of Faker’s ideas were incorporated into this skin. The remaining time was spent finalizing the Orianna skin.
Not Only Faker but Gumayusi Was Also a “Victim”
Not only Faker but “Prince” Gumayusi also had his plans kept secret by Riot. The publisher did not inform Gumayusi about the intention for Arcane 2 to launch at the end of the year, along with the Jinx skin worth several million VND, and still let Gumayusi come up with ideas for the Jinx Worlds skin.
“Because it was his first skin, and he was extremely excited, we still decided to make the best possible Jinx Worlds skin. Choosing which champion to create a new skin for is difficult, and luckily we had settled on it from the start,” Stephanie shared.
It can be said that Riot kept a bit of “secrecy” from T1 members during the skin selection process. This is an understandable move, and afterward, the League of Legends community as well as the players were able to obtain the skins they desired.