The Milk Cup started as nothing more than a dream, but has since become a massive opportunity for women in esports to compete without fear and gain the confidence to enter the mainstream, male-dominated Fortnite competitive ecosystem.

Esports Insider was invited to an exclusive panel at TwitchCon San Diego 2025 to talk with the young all-women competitors and Milk Cup’s founders about what the event has done for this underrepresented, but hungry, group of esports pros.

It’s been a tough year for women’s esports. When ESL FACEIT Group dropped ESL Impact, it sent shockwaves through the Counter-Strike 2 community and beyond — where would female pros compete now? Riot Games’ women’s VALORANT circuit, Game Changers, was also hit with a massive patch right ahead of its Championship, leading some to question if women’s events were being taken seriously.

However, the Milk Cup has been growing. The stage and production is much bigger this year, with plenty of built-in fans attending TwitchCon.

“A lot of water gets doused on the women’s community all the time. Being here puts the spark back into it. Milk Cup is carrying it all the way through,” said Fortnite streamer and Milk Cup Co-Founder ThePeachCobbler.

“I had goosebumps seeing this stage, igniting that fire. We’re still pushing forward.”

For ThePeachCobbler and other women involved in bringing the Milk Cup to reality, it really seemed like a far-fetched dream. They even wondered if it would fail. But it has since become the largest women’s Fortnite tournament in the world, complete with a massive $300,000 (~£223,000) prize pool.

It’s all part of making the S-Tier event feel as professional and celebratory as possible, giving young women competitors the opportunity to grow confidence in an esports scene that may have otherwise been unattainable.

Radiant CEO Heather’ sapphiRe’ Garozzo, a former Counter-Strike pro, admitted to ESI that in a perfect world, competitors of all identities would participate in the same tournaments, and there wouldn’t be a need for events like the Milk Cup.

But that’s unfortunately not the case. While almost 50% of casual gamers are women, there is far less representation on esports. This isn’t due to an inherent lack of talent, but moreso a lack of opportunities to grow talent at the same rate.

“It’s difficult to compete,” 18-year-old Jaya ‘Fraanticc’ told ESI. “We get a lot of hate. A lot of backlash. For nothing. We get targeted in tournaments a lot. We get treated a different way. The Milk Cup lets us play freely, learn, get better, get experience. It’s made a lot of girls more confident.”

Unfortunately, a lot of younger female Fortnite players don’t have the same opportunity to reach mainstream tournaments like the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) due to teammates treating them different and enemies targeting them once they find out they are a woman.

This behaviour doesn’t allow these womens’ true skills to shine through but also intimidates a lot of younger girls from wanting to practice and compete consistently. This has made the Milk Cup a rare opportunity for these young competitors to feel that their talent is being recognised.

“Milk Cup shows off the talent,” said 18-year-old Vader. “Women don’t have a lot of representation in esports, and people develop a bias that women can’t be as good at competitive.

“Milk Cup shows that isn’t true. The competitive level and high skill level are there.”

What makes the Milk Cup special is not just the stage itself. The young women competitors get tons of support when it comes to practice — with help from the Milk Academy — and are made to feel special, growing their confidence as a result.

 “I love personal touch,” said ThePeachCobbler. “I want women to feel they’re being seen; they’re not just a name tag. We made it more of a platform where I’m there for them as their big sister, to get them milk or hand warmers.

“We honestly don’t have a limit to that request. Some of these girls do not know how to do things like buy plane tickets, and have never had those mentors. And we’re personalising everything, making them feel special.”

This personal touch goes further than just providing players with gift baskets containing their favourite brands.

“We expanded the talent pool since last year. This is a Tier 1 setup,” said sapphiRe. “We got your desk host, your analysts, the best-of-the-best… Casters, stage host… The stage is tiered now. The stage is super cool.

“The beginning of the broadcast — it’s really cool. Content pieces around the event have been leveled up, too.”

Giving the Milk Cup competitors this high-level competitive experience has helped grow their confidence.

Vader explained how she has always been competitive, starting with Bed Wars in Minecraft before starting to grind Fortnite. Unfortunately, a lot of the people she came across were toxic “and had pre-conceived notions and opinions” about her. She started competing in women’s events and thrived at Milk Cup with her teammate 20-year-old Nina ‘ilyynina’ Fernandez.

“It’s been great to have that kind of space full of likeminded people to compete without toxicity,” Vader said.

The Duo recently won the Milk Cup 2025, taking home the lion’s share of $210,000. Both women said in a press panel that the confidence gained during the past two Milk Cup seasons helped them stay on track and determined throughout the tournament.

But Milk Cup is not where it ends. With that newfound confidence and experience, many of the women are looking to compete in the FNCS.

“Milk Cup has helped us a lot in building up our confidence and becoming more competitive,” said 21-year-old Moxie. “I believe we can play in FNCS against everyone.”

BC.GAME has signed Major winner Denis ‘electroNic‘ Sharipov to its Counter-Strike 2 roster.

The Russian rifler joins the crypto casino’s esports branch after being benched by Virtus.pro in August.

Announced on October 18th, 2025, electroNic’s signing comes after Luca ‘pr1metapz‘ Voigt was moved to the team’s inactive roster on October 3rd. The move also reunites the Russian rifler with Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev.

ElectroNic and s1mple spent six years competing under the NAVI banner, winning several Tier 1 events, including the PGL Major Stockholm and IEM Katowice 2020.

In 2023, electroNic departed NAVI to join Cloud9, a move that yielded little success throughout the year and into 2024. After a year-long stint in Cloud9, he joined Virtus.pro, where conflicting playstyles with Dzhami ‘Jame‘ Ali also saw the team struggle to compete on the international stage.

Following Jame’s departure, electroNic transitioned to the role of in-game leader, which yielded minimal success. In August, Virtus.pro placed him on the bench following elimination from BLAST Open London.

The move to BC.GAME frees electroNic of the in-game leadership role and acts as an opportunity to rediscover the form that led to several event wins alongside s1mple.

Since the signing of s1mple, BC.GAME has continued to build a roster that is capable of competing in Tier 2 tournaments. In September, the team won ESL Challenger League Season 50 Cup 2, earning a place at the Regional Finals and a shot at ESL Pro League qualification.

The four-team tournament is set to take place from November 18th to 20th.

On October 21st, electroNic is set to make his BC.GAME debut at CCT Season 3 European Series #9, a 24-team online event featuring a $50,000 (~£37,271) prize pool.

BC.GAME will begin the tournament in the Playoffs, after receiving a direct invitation alongside ECSTATIC, FUT Esports, Nemiga Gaming, and Team Venom. In October’s Global VRS rankings, BC.Game placed 45th.

Today (October 20th, 2025), dozens of websites, services, and video games have been impacted by a widespread internet outage caused by an issue at Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The cloud computing platform is continuing its efforts to restore functionality across various services following thousands of outage reports.

Among the reports are several esports titles and online platforms gamers use to play and compete in tournaments. Esports Insider takes a closer look at how the AWS internet outage has impacted the industry.

As a result of the outage, several mobile esports titles have been affected by the AWS outage. Supercell’s hugely popular Clash of Clans and Clash Royale titles went on a maintenance break due to players being unable to log in.

“Supercell ID logins are temporarily unavailable due to an external outage,” revealed Clash Royale social media channels. Following the maintenance, some players are still experiencing issues when attempting to log in.

Alongside mobile esports titles, the outage has resulted in several gaming platforms experiencing issues. The Epic Games Store has been impacted, preventing players from logging into Fortnite and Rocket League, among others.

Fortunately, there are no significant online tournaments set to take place across the battle royale and sports simulation titles.

In addition to the Epic Games Store, the PlayStation Network has also been hit by the outage. Moreover, whilst not directly tied to esports, social media platform Reddit has suffered connection issues as a result of the outage. The platform is regularly used by the esports and gaming community to keep up-to-date with the latest developments.

The BBC has received a statement from AWS stating that the issue that caused the initial outage has been resolved, with several services reporting that they’re coming back online.

While the cause of the outage has been resolved, players may experience problems while logging into various gaming storefronts and esports titles.

For those attempting to access titles and platforms impacted, the chances of experiencing a queue are high.

Legacy has won the CS Asia Championship (CAC) 2025 Counter-Strike 2 event, securing its first-ever LAN tournament victory.

The Brazilian esports organisation defeated 3DMAX in the fifth and final map of the best-of-five series.

Legacy began its CAC campaign with a dominant victory over Virtus.pro to set up its first clash with 3DMAX in the Group A upper bracket semi-finals. The Brazilians managed to defeat the French side 2-1, booking its place in the upper bracket final against Team Liquid.

Despite a strong showing, Team Liquid scored a 2-1 victory, securing a place in the quarter-finals of the Playoffs.

FUT Esports gained the early advantage on Mirage, taking a 13-8 win to put Legacy on the brink of elimination. The Brazilians bounced back on Inferno, responding with a 19-16 overtime victory to force a deciding Dust II.

Legacy’s attacking rounds made the difference, winning seven in the second half to secure a 13-8 map win to complete a reverse sweep.

The semi-final against HEROIC required another comeback, with the Norwegian organisation taking a dominant 13-2 win on the opening map.

A 13-6 win on Ancient and a 13-8 victory on Inferno secured the series for the Brazilians, booking the team’s place in its first-ever Grand Final.

Legacy opened the Grand Final with a confident defensive showing on Nuke to score a 13-6 win. 3DMAX responded immediately, winning Dust II and Inferno with some well-timed aggression, proving the difference between the two sides.

Legacy’s defence excelled once again on Train, winning eight rounds in the opening half to secure a 13-10 win to send the series to a fifth and final map.

Similarly to Train, defence proved pivotal, with Legacy winning ten rounds in the first half. Three attacking rounds in the second half sealed a 13-6 win and a 3-2 series victory.

After bursting onto the Counter-Strike 2 scene at the BLAST.tv Austin Major, Legacy has continued to cement itself as one of South America’s top teams.

The organisation has little downtime ahead of the StarLadder Budapest Major. From October 24th, the team is one of 16 teams competing at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 in one of the final Tier 1 events taking place before the Major.

Regulators are finalising preparations for Missouri’s legal sports betting rollout, which is set for December 1st.

In order to guarantee that all systems are prepared for smooth betting when the market opens, the Missouri Gaming Commission is actively seeking to grant temporary licenses to technology providers.

Chairman Jan Zimmerman stated that no bets can be placed just yet, but the Commission’s efforts are in full swing to guarantee that providers’ technology is compliant and operational by launch day.

Temporary licenses are set to be granted before December, so suppliers can verify and demonstrate its products’ effectiveness prior to going live.

Creating the legal framework for sports betting has taken up a large amount of the pre-launch work.

Zimmerman noted the effort required to build the rules from scratch, describing the process as intensive and time-consuming.

“There are hundreds of pages of everything that will regulate sports wagering in the state of Missouri,” Zimmerman explained. Staff members reportedly worked long hours, even on weekends and holidays, transforming the Commission’s conference room into a “war room” dedicated to the project.

The effects of legalised sports betting on the economy are still unknown as Missouri enters the last stage before taking its first legal sports wagers.

Chairman Zimmerman indicated: “The most reasonable number that I’ve heard has been probably 28m,” referencing early revenue predictions. However, she cautioned that because betting will begin mid-football season, a full year of data will be necessary for an accurate assessment.

Voters in Missouri approved legal sports betting last year through a ballot initiative, but the business had to be operational by December 1st.

The new framework states that Missouri public education and military veterans’ programs will receive tax money from sports gambling.

As the start date draws near, the Commission’s last-minute preparations should guarantee a seamless launch.

The Marvel Rivals Ignite Grand Finals will take place later this year at DreamHack Atlanta, running from October 27th to November 2nd, 2025.

The top 12 teams from Ignite Stage 2 will play in the LAN event, hoping to claim the lion’s share of a $1m (~£745,000) prize pool, the highest cash reward of any Marvel Rivals tournament to date.

From the best squads to keep an eye on, to the state of the meta in Season 4.5, here are the biggest headlines ahead of Marvel Rivals’ crowning event.

100 Thieves has had a very interesting journey in Marvel Rivals esports. It exploded onto the scene after winning the 2025 North America Invitational, but has since had varying levels of success in the scene, from finishing runners-up in the Season 1 Championships to taking third place at the Mid-Season Finals.

Americas Stage 2 proved that 100 Thieves was not messing around. During the Group Stage, it managed to outperform the Stage 1 Champions, Sentinels, who were knocked out in the Lower Brackets of the Playoffs. 100 Thieves ended its run after defeating long-time rival ENVY, 4-1 in the Grand Finals.

100 Thieves enters the Ignite Grand Finals as one of the three qualified Americas teams, though its chances of victory hinge on whether it can overcome some of the best teams from Europe.

Virtus.pro has finally secured a spot at a LAN event after triumphing in EMEA Ignite Stage 2, setting the stage for the team to prove whether it truly deserves its reputation as one of the scene’s top teams.

The roster saw a major upset in Stage 1 after failing to qualify for the Mid Season Finals, knocked out of the Lower Bracket Finals by Citadel Gaming (then Brr Brr Patapim). Stage 2 saw the ultimate redemption story for Virtus.pro after it defeated the same team 4-2 in the Grand Finals.

It will be the first time fans will get to see Virtus.pro compete against international teams, facing off against rosters from Americas, Asia, and Oceania. Only time will tell if the team can carry over its momentum from Stage 2 or fall short yet again.

The Ignite Grand Finals will take place during Marvel Rivals Season 4.5, an update that has seen drastic changes to some of the most popular characters in the game.

Dive is particularly strong at the moment, with characters like Venom seeing a lot of play during Ignite Stage 2, and will likely be the go-to strategy for a lot of teams. This may also include characters such as Psylocke and the most popular character from the Mid-Season Finals, Emma Frost.

There has also been a rise in triple support comps, utilising characters like Ultron and Jeff the Landshark to keep the team alive while outputting high amounts of damage. To combat this, esports rosters have been experimenting with using damage boosts more, using characters like Mantis to secure eliminations.

The talk of the town is whether Daredevil, the latest addition to the hero shooter, will see any play in the LAN event. Daredevil boasts a unique flanking/dive-heavy playstyle, being able to prioritise targets and deal out high-damage combos.

Fans can watch the matches in-person at DreamHack Atlanta to see how the Grand Finals unfold, or watch the live broadcasts through the official Marvel Rivals Twitch and YouTube channels.

Brazilian esports organisatio FURIA overturned a two-map deficit to win the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 against NAVI.

This is FURIA’s second tier-one Counter-Strike 2 LAN victory of the year following its victory at FISSURE Playground 2 in September.

Heading into the event, FURIA looked to cement its place among the world’s best teams with another strong performance at a tier-one event.

The team kicked off its Group A campaign with a 2-0 sweep of OG Esports, setting up an exciting clash against The MongolZ in a match featuring the top two teams from October’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS).

Superior offensive strategy made the difference, securing a 2-0 win to top the group and a place in the Playoffs.

FURIA continued to excel against Aurora Gaming in the semi-finals, scoring another 2-0 win to secure a spot in the Grand Finals without conceding a map.

NAVI put a halt to FURIA’s momentum in the opening map of the Grand Final, taking Mirage 13-6 as a result of Mareks ‘YEKINDAR‘ Gaļinski and Danil ‘molodoy‘ Golubenko struggling to make an impact in the first half.

The Ukrainian organisation moved within one map of victory, taking Inferno 13-9, putting FURIA on the verge of defeat despite a strong start to the tournament.

The comeback began on Nuke, with FURIA scoring eight defensive rounds and winning a 3v3 post-plant scenario to reduce the deficit.

Molodoy and YEKINDAR shone on Dust II, with the Latvian almost scoring an ace in the pistol round to keep momentum building to a 13-5 win to send the series to Train.

FURIA’s defence proved too much for NAVI, as the team managed to score one offensive round in the first half. Two attacking rounds from FURIA in the second half wrapped up a dominant 13-1 win, along with the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 title.

Victory puts FURIA in a strong position to make a deep run at the Budapest Major, where the team will begin the tournament in Stage 3.

Following victory at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025, FURIA turns its attention to IEM Chengdu 2025, one of the final tier-one events before November’s StarLadder Budapest Major.

The Brazilian organisation is one of 16 teams competing in China, joining the likes of Team Vitality, Team Spirit, and The MongolZ, competing for a share of a $300,000 (~£223,452) prize pool from November 3rd to 9th.

LEC third seed Fnatic and the LCP’s PSG Talon have both been eliminated from the League of Legends World Championship 2025. 

Taking place in China, both teams walk away from the competition with unfavourable 0-3 records after Fnatic lost against MKOI, while PSG Talon fell to Brazil’s Vivo Keyd Stars.

In an all-LEC clash, UK-based esports organisation Fnatic was unable to overcome its Spanish rivals, losing 2-1 to MKOI to officially become the first team to be eliminated from Worlds 2025. 

After suffering a convincing loss in game one, Fnatic showed glimmers of hope and its potential with a commanding performance in game two. Racking up an impressive 21 kills to MKOI’s three, Fnatic was able to showcase early aggression to tie the series 1-1. 

Moreover, Fnatic’s, Iván ‘Razork’ Martín was able to end the remarkable Worlds 2025 loss streak of Jarvan IV, which was sitting at nine losses prior to the jungler’s game with the champion. 

Despite putting this record to rest, it was MKOI who would ultimately take the headlines. After a back-and-forth opening 10 minutes, MKOI managed to gain momentum and rarely put a foot wrong, resulting in a 29-minute 24-5 victory.

Locking in Vayne, Spanish bot laner David ‘Supa’ Garcia walked away with an 8/1/11 KDA in game three and the record of piloting the champion’s first Worlds win as an ADC since 2019.

As Brazil’s sole representative at Worlds 2025, Vivo Keyd Stars (VKS) will live to play another series after taking down the Pacific’s third seed, PSG Talon, to go 1-2 in the Swiss Stage.

The LTA North (soon to be CBLOL) side — which is making its League of Legends international debut — recorded a historic 2-1 BO3 Worlds result for the Brazilian esports scene.

Vivo Keyd Stars started the series on the front foot, recording an emphatic 26-3 26-minute victory. In particular, VKS bot laner Matheus ‘Morttheus‘ Motta, mid laner Jeong ‘Mireu‘ Jo-bin and top laner Felipe ‘Boal‘ Boal all ended the game deathless.

PSG Talon, however, levelled the series 1-1. In a game that was largely dominated by LCP’s third seed, valiant efforts from VKS gave fans from both sides an eager sense of anticipation for game three.

Despite Vivo Keyd Stars having the gold lead for nearly all of the final match-up, the Brazilian side opted to err on the side of caution to ensure that its opponents would be unable to turn the tables.

In the end, this strategy paid off with VKS picking its opportunity in the 33rd minute to execute a well-coordinated team fight, ace PSG Talon and walk away with the victory a couple of minutes later.

Unfortunately for PSG Talon, Worlds 2025 is likely the final competition for iconic mid laner Huang ‘Maple‘ Yi-Tang. The player returned from retirement earlier this year to help PSG Talon secure its place at League of Legends’ season-ending event.

Whilst this symbolises the end of the road for Fnatic and PSG Talon, MKOI and VKS move on to the 1-2 bracket and will continue to fight for a spot in the Knockout Stage. 

Following today’s match-ups, Worlds 2025 officially moves onto round four, which features 2-1 and 1-2 match-ups, all of which are BO3. The action will resume on October 22nd with two BO3 upper bracket series. 

All matches will be streamed live on League of Legends’ official esports Twitch and YouTube channels, alongside accepted co-streamers.

The League of Legends Worlds 2025 round four matches are as follows:

2-1 Matches

1-2 Matches

It’s that time of year again when League of Legends players and fans across the world come together for the League of Legends World Championships. The annual tournament is also well-known for the anthem that accompanies it every year. 

The LoL anthems are the official theme songs for the championship. They are known for being big, bombastic tunes designed to get players and fans hyped for the competition. The songs usually come with animated music videos that tell a story, creating an additional narrative layer to the anthem concept. 

At the time of writing, October 2025, 12 anthems have been released since the League of Legends World Championships began. We’re going to be ranking them all, including the most recent 2025 song. Keep in mind that each of these songs is excellent in its own way, but some reflect the game, competition and the players better than others. 

When ranking the League of Legends anthems, there are a few factors we have considered. The first is the community response to each of the songs, including polls and Reddit post tier lists. We also considered data from AOTY.org, a social music catalogue application and music review aggregator that offers reviews from both professional music reviewers and fan communities. 

Another factor is the accompanying music videos. The videos are just as important as the music, as they act as one of the two major storytelling features of each anthem (along with the lyrics). If a music video doesn’t fit the song or the lyrics, creating an emotional connection with a song is extremely difficult, so it’s certainly an important factor. 

Being able to tie in thematically with the general concepts of League of Legends and its characters is also pivotal, as is the impact that an anthem has had since it was released. With all this in mind, let’s get into our ranking of the League of Legends Worlds anthems. 

STAR WALKIN’ is far from a bad song, but it doesn’t fit well with the other anthems. The song is quite reserved, with a soft yet upbeat hip hop beat that corresponds well with the hand-drawn anime-style animation of the music video. However, the lyrics can be a bit uninspired.

The song could have been a great way to connect fans of Lil Nas X who didn’t know of or weren’t interested in League of Legends with the esports tournament, but the differences between the song with the other anthems was too much for established LoL fans to accept. Despite this being a good song in its own right, it tends to slink into the shadows in comparison to the other songs created for the tournament. 

Take Over is another song that feels a little low-key when compared to the other more lively tunes on this list, even if its chorus does have an addictive electro beat. It’s one of those songs that gets stuck in your head the more you listen to it, but it doesn’t reach the heights it could have, even with an awesome Mandarin Chinese rap from K-pop and R&B singer and rapper Henry Lau. The lyrics about taking over do reflect the tournament well, but it feels a little less emotionally resonant than other lyrics from other anthems. 

Ignite often gets a bad rap as a League of Legends anthem for its overtly EDM nature. While it isn’t as emotionally charged as other songs because of this club-like vibe, Ignite still makes our top 10 due to its ability to create hype with a single listen. It features a basic, yet fun beat that escalates throughout each verse and becomes a techno lover’s dream in the chorus. It’s fun, and it suits the excitement that surrounds the Worlds, but that’s about all it does. 

Much like Ignite, Burn It All Down has a major EDM beat that amps up the hype factor for the song, though PVRIS’s vocals add a softness that stops it from veering more into total clubland territory. The music video features some incredible animation, but the problem here is that the animation is so good that it takes away from the song. People probably watch the official video for the visuals alone rather than for both the song and visuals, so we can’t rank Burn It All Down any higher. 

Worlds Collide is much like Ignite in that it is a LoL anthem that isn’t always favoured as much as others. For Worlds Collide, this is usually because it is the only song that doesn’t have an animated music video. Forming a connection with a song is, of course, absolutely possible without visual stimulus, but it can make it more difficult. However, Nicki Taylor’s vocals, epic lyrics (“can we bring to fall the giants” is particularly powerful), and the swelling orchestrals make Worlds Collide a fantastic anthem that is fondly remembered even after a decade. 

Phoenix is a fantastic song with lyrics that resonate with the League of Legends world, focusing on the need for the heroes to face their demons to survive, such as the lyrics, “So are you gonna die today or make it out alive? You gotta conquer the monster in your head, and then you’ll fly.” The music video is also unique, blending animation with live action to show real-life players and heroes from LoL. It’s a great anthem for League of Legends and is still loved by fans. 

Sacrifice is the LoL Worlds anthem 2025, and although it hasn’t been out very long at the time of writing, it features all the classic staples of a great LoL Worlds song. Sacrifice is an epic, cinematic tune about the strife of sacrifice, representing the sacrifices that pro players make to try and win the Summoners Cup. 

The music video has an animation style the same as that seen in the popular Arcane animated series, which is based on League of Legends, and it works particularly well with the song itself. There is also a touching reference to the retired pro LoL player Shushei, who passed away in April 2025 after a battle with cancer. An animated version of him is seen lifting the Summoners Cup, which is a particularly moving memorial. 

NewJeans are about as girly pop as you can get in terms of music, so it’s no surprise that the K-Pop girl group caused a stir when they were confirmed to be the artists of the 2023 LoL Worlds anthem. However, the song turned out to be far from a saccharine sweet pop tune. 

GODS is another cinematic, epic song with lyrics that tell of the struggles of reaching the top. The animation in the video is once again top-notch, and the vocals from the NewJeans members are perfectly suited for the song’s epic style. 

Heavy Is The Crown was the first pure rock outing for a LoL anthem, and it was also one of the first songs for Linkin Park with new vocalist Emily Armstrong after the passing of Chester Bennington. The song’s lyrics reflect on the pressures that come with maintaining the top spot, “This is what you asked for. Heavy is the crown.” 

The lyrics pose an interesting question: when you get everything you wanted, can you truly handle the responsibility that comes with that? The lyrics also fit Armstrong’s role in Linkin Park after its regroup, adding even more layers to the song that expand beyond the League of Legends world. 

Chrissy Constanza’s first foray into the League of Legends anthems was with Against the Current for Legends Never Die, and it’s undoubtedly one of the best anthems. The song’s lyrics focus on picking yourself up and getting back on your feet again, even if things look dire, with the hook being that you need to do so because “Legends never die.” These are the kind of cinematic, heroic and inspirational lyrics that a LoL anthem needs for fans, players and pros to truly feel those high stakes.

RISE is another song that depicts an epic journey in both its visuals and lyrics. The song opens with,“Welcome to a world of heroes and villains”, and that’s exactly what the rest of the anthem sounds like. The electric rock sound is perfectly suited to this and emphasises that feeling that you’ve been pulled into the League of Legends fantasy world. What more can you ask for an anthem for the world championships? The animation is also stellar, with a narrative that shows the pros scaling mountains and turbulent terrains to reach the Summoners Cup. 

Warriors was the very first League of Legends Worlds anthem, and it takes the top spot due to just how iconic it is and how well it suits its role as a LoL Worlds theme. The lyrics of Warriors are about as epic as they come, telling the story of heroes who, “built this land from dust.” The constantly building rock tune culminates in an epic orchestral crescendo that is enough to get even the most blasé people hyped up. 

The music video is pretty inspirational too, showing a team losing their comp games but refusing to give up until they eventually reach the final. This is an anthem that isn’t only associated with League of Legends. It has been used in trailers and television shows too, such as the South Korean drama Sweet Home. With such influence and impact, Warriors has to be our number one pick for the best League of Legends Worlds anthem. 

That’s our ranked list of all the LoL World anthems as of 2025. Different songs appeal to different people, so there’s a good chance that you won’t agree with every ranking. However, it can’t be denied that every song here has made its mark as a crucial part of League of Legends history. 

After an intense day of battle royale competition, the Duo of Nina ‘ilyynina’ Fernandez and Vader won the second annual Milk Cup.

Milk Cup is the largest all-female Fortnite tournament in the world, boasting a $300K prize pool and a high-end production of the competition at TwitchCon San Diego. During a year full of hardship for women in esports, the Milk Cup has become a beacon of hope for young women that want to thrive in the scene.

“[Our win at Milk Cup] shows you can be your true self and not be apologetic about it,” Vader said in a press panel after the victory. “There are spaces for everybody, so never give up.”

Vader and Nina went into the Milk Cup feeling surprisingly confident. After a season of ups and downs, the Duo felt that nobody really had faith in them or saw them as the winners. But they saw the Milk Cup as a chance to prove people wrong.

“We went with great vibes, good mental,” Nina said. “We told ourselves, ‘This is the easiest tournament for us, we will win this no matter what it takes.’”

While the Championship was a bit rocky at first, Vader and Nina felt especially confident after game four of six. After that, the Duo felt locked in and had no more nerves. They weren’t worried about other teams. They were focused only on themselves.

Even the crowd seemed to slip away. Competing at a massive LAN with a big audience in front of them was nerve-racking at first, but it soon became another form of motivation. As the largest event of the year, they knew they had to give it everything they had. The people watching at TwitchCon gave them another reason to win.

Going into the Milk Cup this year, the top Duos were all quite familiar with one another. In fact, some used to play Trios together before the format changed. Every team has its own strategy and strengths, which have been formed over the past season by competing against one another and feeling more confident as time went on.

Said Vader: “This year, one of the things we’ve been working on as a Duo is having more confidence going for riskier plays. We went for high ground a lot more, fought when we had to. Last time, we didn’t take that risk.”

Indeed, there were plenty of insane moments where the Duo seemed to have a take-charge attitude, even taking on the most aggressive Duo in the competition —  Jaya ‘Fraanticc‘ and Kanary — for the win.

Last year, Vader and Nina took second place, looking like a shoe-in for next year’s Championship. However, they started off the 2025 season quite shaky, which made the Duo feel like the Fortnite community had lost faith in them. During the press conference, Nina especially felt people had been rooting against her this season.

She said of the win: “I needed this all year. I proved so many people wrong. I woke up and knew I’d win. People didn’t believe in me, but I never gave up. The confidence was there.”

But maybe those people who lost faith in her were really just herself this whole time. When she lifted the trophy on stage with Vader, she noticed how many people were cheering for them. Nina was then awarded MVP for her mechanical skills, which further boosted her confidence. The community was with her.

“It felt crazy to lift that trophy,” added Vader, “to prove people wrong in a sense, and really show that anybody can participate in esports. Don’t let people stop you. Don’t let comments get to your head. Believe in yourself.”

The Milk Cup has been a way for young female Fortnite players to hone their talents, of course, but it’s been much more than that. It’s become a safe space. A place to make friends. A place to feel supported. The close friendships, mentorships, and S-tier experiences have made the women competing in the Milk Cup realize they truly belong in esports.

While a lot of esports tournaments and scenes have been toxic, especially to female players, the Milk Cup has been their chance to compete without fear holding them.

“Placing in the Milk Cup gave us the confidence and place to really improve our individual skills and teamwork,” Vader said to Esports Insider. “Now we can do even better in FNCS, using the skills that were nourished here.”

And that’s the thing: many of the women competing in the Milk Cup have been given the safe and supportive experience needed to build the confidence needed to compete in the Fortnite Championship Series. Nina added that making it to the FNCS is a big goal in her life — a goal that the Milk Cup has made possible.

But first, nothing wrong with basking in the glory of a hard-earned victory.

“I’ve dreamt about this day since I was 10 and started playing Fortnite,” Nina said. “It’s a dream come true.”