The long-awaited anthem for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship has arrived. STAR WALKIN’, performed by rapper Lil Nas X, will be the tune of glory for this year’s grand event.
STAR WALKIN’, which lasts about 3.5 minutes, uses the classic Worlds narrative of overcoming your enemies and fighting your way to the top as its framework. The chorus goes as follows, “Don’t ever say it’s over if I’m breathin’ // Racin’ to the moonlight and I’m speedin’ // I’m headed to the stars, ready to go far // I’m star walkin’.”
With full creative control over the song, Lil Nas X has chosen a light and catchy tune over the bass-heavy, dramatic style of most previous Worlds anthems.
Four champions heading into battle
The song is accompanied by a clip that follows the journey to combat of four players: Tian “Meiko” Ye, Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, Marek “Humanoid” Brázda, and Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in. The inclusion of CoreJJ may be confusing as he didn’t manage to qualify for Worlds 2022 with his team, Team Liquid, but the protagonists for the clip were chosen long before the Worlds-qualifying games were played. Animation takes a long time to complete, after all.
In the video, which is set in San Francisco, home to the Worlds 2022 grand final, the four players assemble huge mechas of a champion fitting the players’ role. Meiko builds a huge Thresh, Chovy an Azir, Humanoid a Twisted Fate, and CoreJJ a Rell.
There are plenty of other references to be found in the clip. From fans wearing apparel with other players’ names on them to subtle metaphors—such as a literal school ruler to give a nod to Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk—there is plenty to discover for the passionate League of Legends esports fan.
With STAR WALKIN’ as the official Worlds 2022 anthem, it’s likely that Lil Nas X will perform the song during the grand final opening ceremony, although that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
You can find the schedule for Worlds 2022 here.
