World Champions: 2021 Skins

EDG's Worlds 2021 run was one of those tournaments where everything just clicked. Flandre on Graves, Scout on Zoe, Jiejie's Viego flipping teamfights, Meiko keeping everyone alive on Yuumi, and Viper locking in Aphelios like it was solo queue. The World Champions 2021 skins capture that roster pretty faithfully. Not sure if it's just me but these feel more polished than some of the earlier Worlds skin sets, even if they dont hit quite as hard as the 2018 iG line. Five Epics at 1350 RP each, all dropped in 2022. Solid set, a few standouts, one or two that feel like they're coasting on the EDG branding alone.

What Sets the World Champions 2021 Skins Apart

Worlds skins always have a specific job. Commemorate the championship roster, give each player's signature pick a unique look, slap the org logo somewhere visible. The EDG set does all of that but with a visual identity that actually holds together across the five champions. Heavy use of black and red, EDG's colors, with gold accents that give everything a trophy-ceremony kind of feel. The splashes lean into a unified composition style where each champion is posed with their signature weapon or ability front and center.

What ties the World Champions 2021 line together visually is the particle work. Every skin in the set shares a similar red-and-gold VFX palette on abilities, which reads cleanly in game. Played against an EDG Viego last month in ranked and the possessions had this distinct crimson trail that made it immediately obvious which skin was equipped. That kind of visual consistency across five different champions with five completely different kits is not easy to pull off.

Compared to something like the DWG 2020 set, the EDG skins feel warmer in tone. DWG went blue-white, very clinical. EDG's color scheme has more energy to it. Could be wrong here but I think the red-black-gold combo just photographs better in splash art than cool tones do. The recall animations reference EDG's logo and tournament moments, which is standard for Worlds skins but still a nice touch for anyone who watched the finals live.

The shared design language extends to the model work too. Each champion gets a team jacket or uniform element integrated into their base model. Graves has the collar, Zoe has the sleeves, Viego gets the full coat treatment. It reads as "team skin" without looking like a uniform store catalog. Some Worlds sets from earlier years struggled with that balance. The 2021 set threads the needle pretty well.

(Random aside: I watched the EDG vs DK finals at like 4 AM my time and the Viego pick in game 5 is permanently burned into my brain. Seeing the skin in loading screen always takes me back to that.)

Best World Champions 2021 Skins

EDG Viego is the clear standout. No contest. Jiejie's MVP performance basically demanded this skin exist, and Riot delivered. The passive possessions get the EDG color treatment, the Q stab has crisp red particles, and the ult reset chains look clean in teamfights. Been running this in my jungle rotation since it dropped and it holds up. The model itself is strong too. Viego's base design already has that regal thing going on, so adding the championship elements feels natural rather than forced.

EDG Aphelios comes in second for me. Viper's Aphelios was the kind of performance that made you want to learn the champion. The skin does the weapon system justice. Each gun gets subtle EDG coloring on the projectiles, and Infernum R in particular looks devastating with the red-gold spread. Kinda feels like the VFX team spent extra time on the Aphelios ult specifically because they knew that was the highlight reel ability from the tournament.

EDG Graves is solid. Not spectacular. Flandre played Graves a lot during the tournament run and the skin reflects the top lane bruiser playstyle with a heavier, more grounded model. The auto attack pellets have a satisfying red tint. Good skin for Graves mains who want something different from the Pool Party or Mafia options. Honest take: its a tier below the Viego and Aphelios skins in terms of visual impact but still worth considering.

EDG Zoe is where opinions start splitting. Scout's Zoe was filthy during Worlds but translating that energy into a skin is tricky. Zoe's kit is already so visually busy that adding the EDG color scheme on top can feel cluttered in certain teamfight scenarios. The bubble sleep looks good though. I've seen mixed reactions in my games. Some people love it, some think base Zoe or Star Guardian still reads better. Fair warning, if you play Zoe into heavy teamfight comps the particles can blend into ability spam.

EDG Yuumi. Look. Meiko is a legend and the Yuumi pick was smart for the meta. But Yuumi skins have an inherent ceiling because you're attached to someone else 80% of the game. The model is cute, the W attach particles show the EDG colors when you hop between allies, and the ult waves have a nice red sweep. But you're playing Yuumi. Most of the skin's value comes from the loading screen splash and the recall animation. Not gonna lie, I respect the pick but this is probably the least impactful skin in the set purely from a "time spent looking at it" perspective.

The EDG Championship Roster

Five champions. Graves, Zoe, Viego, Yuumi, Aphelios. Each one mapped to the player who made it famous during the 2021 World Championship run. Flandre top, Scout mid, Jiejie jungle, Meiko support, Viper ADC. The champion selections reflect what each player was known for during the tournament specifically, not necessarily their career signature picks.

Thematic fit varies. Viego makes perfect sense for a championship skin. He's already got the king aesthetic, just repaint it in org colors. Done. Aphelios works because the weapon complexity gives the VFX team a lot to play with. Graves is straightforward. Big guy, big gun, slap a jacket on him. All three feel natural in the EDG uniform.

Zoe is a harder sell thematically. She's a cosmic trickster being dressed up in esports merch. It works because the execution is good but conceptually its a stretch. The disconnect between "ancient aspect of twilight" and "championship team skin" is more noticeable on Zoe than on someone like Viego who already has that competitive energy built into his lore.

Yuumi fits fine thematically. She's a support, she's wearing team colors, she sits on the book. Simple. The question isnt whether Yuumi belongs in the set, she obviously does as Meiko's pick. The question is whether a Yuumi skin can ever feel as impactful as the carries. And the answer, at least for me after maybe 30 games seeing it in ranked, is not really. But thats the champion design talking, not the skin quality.

Real talk though, if Riot had to add a sixth skin to this line I'd want to see an EDG Lee Sin or Jarvan. Something with more visual presence. But the five they chose accurately represent the Worlds run and thats what matters for a championship set.

Tier and Price Breakdown

All five skins sit at Epic tier. 1350 RP each. No Legendaries, no Ultimates, no budget 975 options. This is standard for modern Worlds skin releases. Riot settled on the all-Epic format a few years back and hasnt deviated since. You get new models, new textures, new VFX, new recall animations. Voice lines stay base across the board.

For 1350 RP the quality is consistent. None of these feel like 975 skins priced up and none feel like they should have been Legendary. The sweet spot. If you're buying the full bundle you're looking at 6750 RP total, which is roughly $50 depending on your region. Might be overthinking it but I think the bundle is only worth it if you actively play at least three of these five champions. Buying Viego, Aphelios, and one other individually makes more sense for most players.

Compared to other Worlds sets at the same price point, 2021 holds up. The 2019 FPX skins were also all-Epic and some of those felt rushed. The 2020 DWG set was clean but cold. EDG sits comfortably in the upper half of Worlds skin sets quality-wise. Not the best ever (that's still iG 2018 or SKT 2016 depending on who you ask) but far from the worst.

(Sidebar for jungle mains specifically: EDG Viego at 1350 is genuinely one of the best value jungle skins in the game right now. The passive interaction visuals alone are worth the price.)

World Champions 2021 Skins - FAQ