Every LoL esports easter egg in Heavy is the Crown

Linkin Park’s Worlds anthem Heavy is the Crown has come out with a highly-anticipated video, and it’s absolutely riddled with easter eggs. Here are all the ones we spotted.

League of Legends releases a World Championship anthem every year before the start of the event, accompanied by a high-budget animated video. These stories tend to tell the story of the previous World Championship and bring the hype for that year’s event. This year’s song, Heavy is the Crown by Linkin Park, brought a music video filled with maybe the most easter eggs and references ever packed into one LoL Esports music video.

We’ve broken down every single reference to LoL Esports history we can find in Heavy is the Crown.

Every Heavy is the Crown LoL esports easter egg

The Heavy is the Crown music video is filled with easter eggs and references to LoL esports.

The music video begins with the camera panning down a gold and red banner. Woven into the banner are depictions of T1’s history towards the 2023 grand finals. Moon “Oner” Hyeon-jun is depicted as Rell on a metal horse leaping into LNG’s lines. This is a reference to the T1 vs LNG quarterfinals from 2023, in which Oner played Rell in the first two games, playing a key part in T1’s 3-0 victory over LNG.

T1’s banner

The next section of the banner depicts Faker, as Azir, commanding a line of soldiers in Azir’s ultimate. In the art, Park “Ruler” Jae-Hyuk is depicted as Varus, being caught in the famous Shurima shuffle. This is one of the most iconic moments from T1’s last championship run, as it mirrored Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok being caught by Ruler playing Varus and catching him with a flash ultimate to win the series in Worlds 2017. This reversal was the semifinals of Worlds 2023, and it’s pretty clearly established that this banner is essentially an ode to T1’s journey to the championship.

Faker banner

The final image in the banner is Choi “Zeus” Woo-je on his signature Aatrox facing down Weibo Gaming. Zeus was the series MVP for the 2023 Worlds finals and absolutely dominated on Aatrox. Opposite him, we can see members of Weibo surrounding Zeus on all sides. This depicts the famous game-ending fight in game three of the Worlds finals in which Zeus has to make a one-versus-four stand in the top lane as Aatrox while members of his team collapse. In the painting, we can see Liu “Crisp” Qingsong as Bard, Wei “Weiwei” Bohan as Bel’Veth, Li “Xiaohu” Yuan-Hao as Azir, and Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok as Kennen.

Zeus banner

Finally, we get a shot of T1’s members standing around the Worlds trophy, in victory. Each of them is depicted as one of their signature champions with some small design references. These are the champions we will see them depicted as for most of the music video.

Zeus’ 1v4, Worlds 2023 Finals

Faker has a pauldron reminiscent of Azir’s helmet, Ryu “Keria” Min-seok bears the high chestplate and neck guard of Nautilus’ diving suit, Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong wears Xayah’s hood, and Oner sports a single arm in armor, reminiscent of Viego’s mist jacket. Zeus is the only player who it can be hard to tell which champion he is, but the prongs behind his back seem to be referencing his Aatrox skin’s ornamentation, given that he appears as Aatrox in the rest of Heavy is the Crown.

T1’s victory banner

Kings once more, Bin rides again

The scene changes to a grand hall with a throne at the end, behind which is a statue of three unknown warriors reaching for the sky. At the end of the hallway stand each of the five victorious members of T1, adorned in white, gold, and red. Two figures walk down the grand audience chamber, one holding a crown on a red pillow and the other carrying Azir’s golden staff. They’ll appear later, but these seem to be T1 coaches Im “Tom” Jae-hyeon and Kim “Sky” Ha-neul, who were the onstage portion of the coaching team during 2023.

Then the scene abruptly changes, and we get a streaming banner bearing the colors and logo of Bilibili Gaming. The video smash cuts to face of BLG top laner Chen “Bin” Zebin, eyes locked ahead of him. Then we see Bin is on horseback as he speeds by, riding at full gallop towards a great white castle guarded by a gated bridge. We can see a great lantern slung across Bin’s back, letting us know he’ll be depicted as Jax from here on. Bin is widely regarded as the single greatest Jax player in the world, with LCS pro players as recently as post-finals gushing about Bin’s Jax play on the PROS podcast.

BLG Bin as Jax

Next, we get a flash of Faker, resplendent in his emperor’s robes. Then, the scene switches to the cliffs and lands outside the castle, where we meet one champion from each of the other Worlds-participating regions to compete with Bin in the race toward T1’s fortress. The visual imagery is pretty clear, one champion from each region competing for the right to challenge the victorious conquerors in T1.

Challengers across the world assemble

The first other non-T1 player we see in Heavy is the Crown is FlyQuest’s marksman player Fahad “Massu” Abdumalek. He bears simple armor and robes in green for FLY’s signature colors, and wields the Darkin bow of Varus. Planted next to him is a banner with Flyquest’s logo. Massu raises a necklace he’s wearing to his lips gently. This is reference to a real-life necklace that Massu was given by his uncle in Afghanistan, depicting native palm trees. Massu wears this necklace on stage as a reminder of his family.

FLY Massu

The next player to get a close-up is RED Canid’s marksman, Diego “Brance” Amaral. With the signature arm-mounted electric gun of Zeri, and his team’s banner, he’s unmistakeable as the CBLOL representative in the video.

The next new player we spot is G2 Esports’ mid laner, Rasmus “Caps” Winther. His smirk is so distinctive that he doesn’t even need a banner next to him.

G2 Caps

Each of the players ready themselves, then ride, jump, and run forward towards the ivory tower of T1. One hooded figure is seen leaping off the cliff, but his face isn’t revealed. However, as we’ll soon find out, this is Jung “Chovy” Ji-hoon. Massu slings himself along the great bridge via energy arrows from his bow while Brance pursues him, firing off shots of electricity. Massu slings himself up onto the bridge and lands on the frame of a huge gate. As he lands, the hooded Chovy, wielding Akali’s kunai and kama, lands next to him and the two begin to duel. Most of the players in Heavy is the Crown are just one champion, but both Oner and Caps will get the privilege of personifying multiple iconic picks.

Massu and Chovy above, Caps below

Contenders at the gates

As the two fight, Caps appears in a long duster and a cowboy hat, emulating a Twisted Fate ultimate. Massu and Chovy continue to skirmish above the doors as Caps shapeshifts into another one of his iconic champions, Sylas. Caps unleashes two great petricite chains from his robes and grabs the gates to T1’s fortress. Inside the throne room, Gumayusi hears the assault and turns his head. Caps then rips the doors from their hinges, slamming the door into the stone bridge and the lights inside the throne room darken.

Caps as Sylas

With the gates breached, Chovy breaks into a full-on wall run before flipping over the battlements and descending down a banner using his kunai. As he does so, black and gold impact frames overlay Akali over his body for a brief moment. Chovy ripping through the gold and red banner of T1 seems to be symbolism for his ascent to the best current mid lane player.

Chovy as Akali

Bin smashes through the gate behind the door that Caps tore down, and all five of the challengers are left facing one another in a courtyard. It’s a tense standoff, with each holding their iconic champion’s weapon at the ready. In this sequence, Caps has shapeshifted yet again to become Leblanc, with long robes and her iconic gemstone staff.

Worlds players

The defending champions return

Before the five of them can come to blows, they notice four figures emerging from the palace. T1’s roster, sans Faker, is standing at the entrance to the fortress. As seen on the banner and in the throne room, Keria is Nautilus, Zeus is Aatrox, Oner is Viego, and Gumayusi is Xayah.

T1 Keria, Zeus, Oner, Gumayusi

The camera flashes back to Linkin Park’s animated incarnations for a little bit, and then fans get a shot of Faker in his emperor’s robes, standing in the now-darkness of the throne room holding the crown he was presented with.

Faker and his crown

China’s last light versus the unstoppable demon king

Zeus and Bin comes to blows, the two legendary top laners facing down and locking weapons. As they do, golden impact frames depict the gold and black imprints of their champions. This one even holds a lore reference, as Jax was once known as Master Saijax, and was the grandmaster-at-arms of Icathia. When Shurima invaded Icathia, Jax and the then-ascended Aatrox clashed. The characters’ stories mirror the players’ with Bin as the expertly skilled warrior and the last light of his region while Zeus is the unstoppable force of nature.

Bin’s Jax vs Zeus’ Aatrox

Meanwhile, Massu dodges three Xayah feathers thrown by Gumayusi, which are embedded in a statue, and charges a Varus arrow in return. He fires it off only for it to be deflected by Keria swinging his Nautilus anchor into the bolt. Caps, floating in the air, unleashes an arcane bolt aimed at Gumayusi, who dodges out of frame. Next to them, Oner locks the Blade of the Ruined King with Chovy’s kama, and above them on the stairs, Bin’s Jax and Zeus’ Aatrox continue their duel.

T1 Oner vs RED Brance

After another cut to Linkin Park, we resume to see Brance leveling his electro-gun at a T1 member offscreen before Oner dashes into frame and engages him in melee. Brance dodges Oner’s swings with Viego’s greatsword, as Oner pushes into him aggressively. At the bottom of the frame, we catch a glimpse of one of Caps’ chains wrapping around to grab Oner. The chains wrap around his arm and throw him high into the air, slamming into the statue Gumayusi’s feathers had hit.

Oner vs Caps

Oner hits the ground winded and his sword falls to his side. Inside, Faker puts down his crown, placing it on the throne. Oner drops his armor, revealing the iconic arm wraps of Lee Sin.  As he strikes a high Muay-Thai-reminiscent guard, one leg chambered high for a kick with hands raised, Emily Armstrong drops an 18-second long scream note that we can only assume is what it feels like to have Oner’s Lee Sin in a game. Oner throws a high roundhouse kick that meets Caps’ staff, before chaining two quick punches into a side thrust kick that sends Caps sliding across the floor. Gumayusi pulls the feathers he placed in the statue in the start of the cinematic free, and Caps has to blink to safety.

The return of the king

Faker’s entrance

Bin comes flying in, and Keria uses his Nautilus anchor to pull the marksman to safety. All four members of T1 back up to the stairs, on the back foot in the defense, and everything stops. The doors to the castle are pushed wide, and the unkillable demon king steps forth. Faker, in royal red, white, and gold, bearing the staff of Azir, pushes the doors wide. As he appears, Faker draws one hand to his shoulder, and the same gold and black impact frames we saw on Chovy paint Azir’s helmet over Faker’s face.

Faker as Azir

On the left of Faker is Korean text that flashes by incredibly quickly. The text approximately translates to “Eventually, all roads lead to the same destination.” This is a reference to Faker’s line about “All roads lead to me.” Faker throws his cape and spins his staff, descending the stairs to join T1 as the full roster moves to clash with the regional challengers.

T1 vs Worlds

Heavy is the Crown video ending

The final shot of the Heavy is the Crown music video depicts the lands beyond T1’s fortress, filled with armies bearing the banners of each region. What happens next is yet to be written. Will T1 defend their fortress, or will a newcomer walk through those open doors and claim the crown and throne only to defend it next year?

Regional armies

Worlds begins on September 25 with the play-ins stage, with Linkin Park expected to perform Heavy is the Crown at the Grand Finals at the 02 Arena in London, England.