Is Akshan the Next League of Legends Champion?

Sentinel of Light Event's Illustration
Sentinel of Light Event's Illustration / courtesy of Riot Games

Akshan has been rumored as the next League of Legends champion for a while, and fans have finally received a solid clue from Riot.

In League of Legend's 2021 road map released in January three new champions were announced. First was Gwen, Viego's wife's doll.

Next was suppose to be the yordle mage, but she was postponed due to Riot's decision to release the marksman first.

Since then, rumors have been flooding. The illustration above was revealed a couple months ago as the marksman, but not officially confirmed. An expert found a code name "Akshan" in the mobile Wild Rift game.

Is Akshan the Next League of Legends Champion?

The real question is, is Akshan really the next marksman? Are these just not rumors?

The short answer seems to be yes, Akshan is likely to be the next champion. This article will explore how we can be sure, and also about the release date of the champion.

How do we know Akshan is the Next League of Legends Champion?

Moobeat, the head of Surrender@20, tweeted a mysterious question. The link leads to a puzzle made by League of Legends. The website reveals the upcoming champion for League of legends.

Follow the link and Viego will be waiting for you. Click anywhere on the screen and and a countdown will start. Touch his hands and Viego will take you to a new screen to enter a code.

This is the same screen Moobeat posted. The code is a sequence of characters: '->8->8->8->8.'

The second screen asks the name of the potential new hero. The answer for this is: Akshan.

courtesy of Riot Games

This will lead you to an illustration of the upcoming event, Sentinels of Light. Look closer and you will see an unfamiliar character in the bottom right corner. He looks awfully a lot like the leaked sketch of Akshan, and the weapon in his hands looks like an illustration previously released for the "marksman."

courtesy of Riot Games

From this, it seems pretty safe to say that that man is Akshan, and he might be released next as a mid lane marksman.

When is Akshan's Release?

Akshan could be released during patch 11.14, along with the Sentinels of Light event and Ruined/Sentinel skin line. Patch 11.14 is scheduled to be on July 8, 2021.