'League of Legends' Releases Stunning Season 9 Cinematic

Riot Games rarely disappoints with its League of Legends cinematics, and the newest one is no exception with champions across different regions doing battle ahead of the start of Season 9.

The new cinematic called "Awaken" was unveiled on Monday with champions like Riven, Draven, Irelia, Sion, Jhin, Camille, and many more making appearances throughout. Those who follow League of Legends' lore will know the backstories behind each of the characters and how those details shine through in the cinematic. Jhin just wants to put on a violent but beautiful show for everyone while Draven is bored with everyday violence and seeks to entertain himself. Sion is an undead juggernaut who wages war for Noxus while Irelia, Karma, and the majority of the Ionian champions seek to defend their land from invaders and push back against the likes of Sion and Draven.

Riot Games' cinematic also features some champions who don't appear much or ever in these types of animations. Yordles, the small, mystical creatures that make up a large part of the game's roster, aren't usually shown, but the electric shuriken-wielding Kennen makes an appearance to unleash his Slicing Maelstrom. Akali is also quite literally rarely seen since she's a ninja who can shroud herself and go invisible in-game, but this also appears to be her first appearance in a cinematic, especially after she was reworked to have a new look and abilities.

Featured in the video is the artist Valerie Broussard with the song produced and written by Riot Music Team alongside Alex Seaver of Mako. For anyone who enjoyed the song and wants to take it with them into Season 9, Riot Games said the song would be available through outlets like Apple Music and Spotify.

The release of the cinematic comes just days before Season 9 is scheduled to start with the 2019 season officially beginning after a preseason period that included new ranked changes and balance adjustments for champions, items, and turrets. League of Legends' login screen for the start of Season 9 was unveiled a few days ago and should now be featured in every player's client, and the official start date of the next season is January 24th.