League of Legends has finally revealed its newest Champion, and the prideful warrior is a historic queer first for the franchise.
The Shuriman hunter K’Sante is set to become the franchise’s first Black queer warrior, and the first character to be openly marketed as queer upon release.
His first teaser trailer is ambiguously titled “The Hunter’s Pride”:
“Pride” takes on a triple-meaning here: the obvious queer Pride, the hero’s storied hubris, and his apparent connection to a lion-like creature shown in the teaser.
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The hunter was officially announced to be queer on Twitter by his voice actor, DeObria Oparei, following the release of the teaser.
The actor specifies that he’s “portraying the first LGBTQ black Champion Warrior”:
I’m excited to give life and voice to K’Sante and make history portraying the first LGBTQ black Champion Warrior @LeagueOfLegends pic.twitter.com/yCVvtZXCTe
— DeObia Oparei (@DeObia) October 13, 2022
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K’Sante’s addition to the roster has been teased for weeks. The new champion was spotlighted by the League of Legends team last month in their collaboration with fellow Black LGBTQ+ champion, Lil Nas X.
The singer was announced to be collaborating with the team on developing an exclusive Prestige skin for the upcoming hero, in addition to his releasing his “Star Walkin’” League Worlds anthem.
A new animated trailer titled “Defeat Your Monster” introduces the hero locked in an epic battle with a gargantuan beast — and explains how he faced the monster inside himself.
Featured in K’Sante’s backstory is the tale of how he lost his love, only addressed as “The Archer”. Don’t worry, they’re not pulling a “bury your gays” speedrun; the two split when the Archer found the Hunter’s pride and arrogance to be clouding his judgement on the battlefield.
There’s no official release date for the new Champion, but fans are eagerly awaiting. They’re also left to wonder whether we won’t see the unnamed Archer in a future installment of the game!
Watch the Pride of Nazumah’s epic story in this brand new cinematic trailer:
Related: Overwatch’s new “Calling All Heroes” initiative aims to give their diversity a major buff
Kangol2
Nice and especially great for children!
Taiyoken
League of Legends isn’t great for children, or at least the community’s not. It’s one of the most famously toxic communities in gaming.
Kangol2
@taiyoken, thanks for this response. I know little about this franchise and its community but the write-up at least made this character sound decent.