World Champions: 2013 Skins

Not gonna lie, the SKT T1 World Champions 2013 set holds a weird place in my heart. This was Faker's first Worlds win, the moment everyone realized SKT was going to be a dynasty, and Riot commemorated it with five 750 RP skins that look like they were made in a weekend. The red and gold SKT jerseys slapped onto Jax, Lee Sin, Vayne, Zyra, and Zed. Simple stuff. No new particles, no new voice lines, base animations across the board. But thats the thing about these early Worlds skins: they're not about the cosmetic quality. They're about the moment. And if you were watching OGN and Worlds in 2013, these skins mean something that no 1820 RP Legendary can buy.

What Ties the SKT T1 2013 Set Together

Visually there's not much mystery here. Every skin in the World Champions 2013 line gets the SKT T1 team jersey treatment. Red base with white and gold accents, the SKT logo somewhere on the model. That's it. No shared VFX, no matching recall animations, no thematic splash art universe. These dropped in 2014 back when Riot's approach to Worlds skins was "slap the team colors on and ship it." Compared to what we get now with the 2022 or 2023 sets where every skin gets custom particles, unique recalls, and coordinated splash art, the 2013 line feels almost like a prototype.

Could be wrong here but I think the simplicity actually works in their favor. The SKT red reads clean on every champion model. Zed in particular looks sharp because his base silhouette already has that ninja aesthetic and the jersey colors dont fight it. Lee Sin gets a headband swap and the red gi works naturally. Zyra's the odd one out visually because plant mage in a team jersey is a weird concept no matter how you slice it.

The splash arts tell the real story though. Each one features the champion in the SKT T1 uniform with the Summoner's Cup somewhere in frame. Basic composition, nothing fancy. But you look at these splashes and you remember Impact's Jax, Bengi's Lee Sin, Faker's Zed, Piglet's Vayne, PoohManDu's Zyra. The splash artist kept it straightforward and honestly for 750 RP skins from that era, expecting more would be unreasonable.

One thing that separates this from later Worlds lines: there's no prestige variant, no event pass tie-in, no border. Just five skins at 750 RP each. Clean.

Best SKT T1 2013 Skins

Okay real talk. Ranking these feels weird because they're all Standard tier at 750 RP with minimal changes. But some champions just wear the jersey better than others and after locking these in across maybe 40-50 games total I have opinions.

SKT T1 Zed is the best of the five and its not close. Faker's Zed play at Worlds 2013 against Ryu is literally the most famous outplay in League history. The skin carries that energy. Red Zed with the SKT logo just feels right when you're throwing out shadows in lane. Been running this in Diamond occasionally just for the flex and people actually comment on it in champ select. "Oh vintage SKT Zed, respect." That kind of thing. (Random aside: I watched the Faker vs Ryu clip again last week and it still gives me chills, season 3 Zed was a different beast.)

SKT T1 Vayne comes second. Piglet was an absolute monster on Vayne during that run and the skin has aged okay. Red Vayne looks clean in teamfights, the model is readable. Not sure if it's just me but the crossbow with SKT colors pops more than I expected at 750 RP. If you're an ADC main who appreciates the history, this one sits nicely in rotation alongside your fancier Vayne skins.

SKT T1 Lee Sin holds up purely because Lee Sin is Lee Sin. Bengi's jungle Lee was iconic. The skin is basically Lee in a red outfit but the champion's animations carry any skin hard. Played this into a ranked game last Tuesday and forgot I even had it equipped until loading screen because it's that subtle. Which is fine. Sometimes subtle is what you want.

SKT T1 Jax is middle of the pack. Impact played Jax during the tournament and the skin works. Jax with a different outfit isn't groundbreaking but the red tones match his aggressive splitpush identity. Decent.

SKT T1 Zyra is the weakest. Sorry PoohManDu. Zyra in a team jersey just looks awkward. The plants stay base, the VFX stay base, and the model change doesn't mesh with her organic theme. Kinda feels like Riot said "we need five skins" and Zyra got the short straw on visual cohesion. Still a cool collector's piece for Zyra mains though.

The Champion Roster and Thematic Fit

Five champions. Jax, Lee Sin, Vayne, Zyra, Zed. This was the actual SKT T1 roster that won Worlds 2013, one signature champion per player. Impact on Jax. Bengi on Lee Sin. Faker on Zed. Piglet on Vayne. PoohManDu on Zyra.

The picks make sense historically even if they don't all translate into great skins. Zed and Lee Sin are natural fits because martial arts champions in team gear just work visually. Vayne in uniform reads like a shooter character from any game so that translates fine. Jax is a fighter, slap some colors on him, it works.

Zyra is the stretch. Support champions in Worlds skins are always the hardest sell because their fantasy is usually elemental or magical, not "athlete wearing a jersey." This is a problem Riot has had with every Worlds set honestly. The support pick almost always looks the least cohesive. Might be overthinking it but I think that's why later Worlds skins moved toward fully custom themes instead of just jersey swaps.

Nobody's getting added to this line obviously. It's a historical capsule. These five champions, this one roster, this one tournament. That's the whole point. You cant expand a Worlds commemoration set and it wouldn't make sense to try. The roster is locked to history.

Tier and Pricing Breakdown

All five skins are Standard tier at 750 RP. Permanent shop. No chromas on any of them. No new VFX, no new animations, no new voice lines across the board. Voice pack is base only on every single one.

For context, 750 RP in 2014 got you a model swap and maybe a texture change. That's exactly what these deliver. Comparing them to modern 750 RP skins isn't really fair because Riot's production standards have shifted so much. The 2022 and 2023 Worlds skins are all 1350 RP Epics with full particle swaps and custom recalls. Different era entirely.

Should you expect value from these? Fair warning, if you're buying for visual quality you'll be disappointed. These are historical memorabilia. The value is in what they represent, not what they change in game. Think of them like vintage sports jerseys. Nobody buys a 1992 Bulls jersey because the fabric is nicer than modern Nike tech. You buy it because Jordan wore it. Same energy here. Faker's Zed. Piglet's Vayne. That's the sell.

At 750 RP each, the full set runs you 3750 RP total. Less than a single Ultimate skin. For five pieces of League history from the start of the SKT dynasty. Honestly not gonna lie, that's a decent deal if you care about the competitive legacy side of League.

The pricing hasnt changed since release. No discounts, no bundles anymore. Just five individual skins sitting in the shop at 750 each. Available any time.

Where These Fit in the Worlds Skin Timeline

The World Champions 2013 set is technically the third Worlds skin release after the 2011 Fnatic set and the 2012 TPA set. But it's the first one that felt like Riot was establishing a pattern. "Win Worlds, get skins." Before SKT T1 2013 it wasn't clear this would become an annual tradition. After it dropped in May 2014, every single Worlds winner has gotten their commemorative set.

Looking at the progression is wild. 2013 got jersey swaps at 750 RP. By 2016, Samsung White's set had better model work. By 2018, iG's set had custom recalls. By 2022, DRX got full 1350 RP treatment with unique particles. The quality curve is steep and it makes the 2013 set look primitive by comparison. But again. Primitive isn't the point.

Been playing League since season 2 and I remember when these dropped. The community reaction was mixed. Some people loved that Riot honored the players. Others complained about the quality, said 750 RP skins with no new effects weren't worthy of a Worlds championship. Both sides had valid points honestly. Riot clearly listened because production quality went up every year after.

(Sidebar for anyone collecting all the Worlds skins: the 2013 set is one of the cheapest to complete. Five skins, all available, all 750 RP. Start here if you're trying to build the full Worlds collection on a budget.)

In my ranked games I see these maybe once every couple months. SKT T1 Zed shows up the most because Zed mains love flexing rare or vintage skins in champ select. The others are genuinely uncommon. Saw an SKT T1 Zyra in an ARAM around 1 AM last Saturday and it threw me off because I forgot the skin existed for a second. That's the reality of 750 RP skins from 2014. They're deep cuts.

Real talk though, if you're a competitive League fan who watches Worlds every year, owning at least one skin from the 2013 set feels like paying respects. This was the beginning of the Faker era. The beginning of the greatest dynasty in esports. Five simple skins that mark the start of something massive. Worth 750 RP for that alone.