The new song for League of Legends Worlds 2023 is probably the most intense yet, with long-time esports fans applauding the emotion and action in the animated music video. Wondering what is going on in this anime-inspired song? Here’s a breakdown.
What Is GODS About?
The protagonist in this music video is Lim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, following his intense battle for the Worlds title last year. You’ll find a ton of references to his life and career throughout GODS, making it a very sentimental and heartfelt video for fans.
Scene 1: High School
The first scene shows Deft walking on a snowy campus, making his way up some stairs wearing a backpack. This is indeed his high school.
Inside the classroom, you see Deft with Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok — the League of Legends icon was actually his classmate in real life. You’ll also see a motivational poster hanging in the back of the classroom that reads: “School Motto: The most important thing is the unbreakable heart.” This quote comes from Deft himself in an interview last year.
Scene 2: The Start of Pro Play
After attending school, Deft began playing professional League of Legends in 2013. This is shown in GODS with Deft playing in his room, grinding solo queue as Ezreal.
In his room, fans have spotted a Teemo hat, an alpaca plushie, and a Rammus plushie. Most of these references, along with a Worlds poster, are to show Deft’s dedication to the game early on. The alpaca, however, is a reference to fans mocking his appearance in the past.
Despite the grind, however, Deft didn’t qualify for Worlds while playing with MVP Blue in 2013. Meanwhile, Faker won the World Championship with ST T1, which was shown in the video with him becoming a real-life Unkillable Demon King.
Scene 3: Worlds 2014
Deft is not one to give up. Even though 2013 didn’t go as he’d hoped, Deft found himself at Worlds in 2014 after transferring to Samsung Blue. They were the first seed from Korea, making them a favorite to win.
Unfortunately, Samsung White knocked them out and ended up winning Worlds. It was another sad moment for Deft, who looks exasperated in the video.
Scene 4: Worlds 2015
The following year, Deft joined EDward Gaming in the LPL. Again, Deft had a very strong season and made it to Worlds, only for it to not go as planned.
In the video, Deft (playing Sivir) and Tian "Meiko" Ye (playing Thresh) are seen on the Rift, having each other’s backs. Unfortunately, it was not enough to hold back Carl “Rekless” Larsson. Playing Kennen, Reckless demolishes the two, representing EDward Gaming falling to Fnatic despite some amazing teamwork.
Some fans have pointed out that, while the players in this scene of GODS are accurate, the champions were not. Thresh and Kennen were played in Game 1 and Sivir only appeared in Game 3. Still, this doesn’t take away from the intensity of the match as a whole and how it was portrayed in the music video.
Frustrated, Deft pushes himself back from the monitor and rolls back in his gaming chair towards the crowd at Worlds. But he is almost immediately pulled back into another tough battle, showing his grit and determination. This quick succession of intense gameplay represents Worlds 2016 and then Worlds 2018, when Deft joined KT Rolster.
Scene 5: Worlds 2020
At this point in Deft’s career, he was playing for DRX alongside a lot of talented young players. During the quarterfinals match at Worlds 2020, Deft was playing Senna while his teammate Choi "Doran" Hyeon-joon was on Jax.
In the video, they are fighting off DWG’s Heo “Showmaker” Su and it doesn’t go according to plan. Support Ryu "Keria" Min-seok protects his carry by rushing forward and tanking Showmaker’s incoming Syndra ultimate. He ends up KOd and Deft can be seen sinking into a dark body of water, tears streaming down his face. It was the end of their Worlds 2020 run.
In an interview following the release of GODS, Deft admitted that this moment made him emotional. But it was the next scene that he also found “hard to watch.”
Scene 6: Worlds 2022
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Like something out of an anime, Deft ends up fighting against all of his former teammates, now his enemies on the Rift. First, Deft defeats Meiko with Draven’s abilities, a nod at Deft using Draven in Game 3 while competing against EDG.
Then, Deft faces Doran, who is now on Gen.G. Deft defeats him with Varus’ arrows, a scene taken from his real-life victory in Game 4 of the semifinals while playing the same champion.
Then, Deft has to defeat Keria, who is playing Karma. As Caitlyn, Deft looks like he has the upper hand until Faker appears to back up Keria. This is inspired by the time Faker attempted to make a backdoor on DRX after a failed Elder Dragon fight. It looks like Deft may lose his chance at a championship again until the rest of DRX shows up. With their support, Deft takes down T1 and wins the championship.
This scene had Deft feeling mixed emotions. On one hand, he admitted he felt uncomfortable seeing himself take down Keria in a video. But winning the championship is obviously one of the most exciting moments of his career. Him holding up the trophy gives fans goosebumps.
With over 4.4 million views, the GODS music video has proven popular amongst fans across the world. Many comments are in South Korean, with fans of Deft expressing emotion over his long journey to the title. GODS showed his skills and determination but it also showed the bond Deft has with his teammates, former and current.
It’s going to be an exciting Worlds this year as Deft and other veteran players come head-to-head in yet another intense attempt at becoming champions.
How to Watch Worlds 2023
Worlds 2023 will be livestreamed in full from October 10 to November 19. Here is the full schedule:
- Play-Ins: October 10 - 15 (LoL Park, Seoul)
- Swiss Stage: October 19 - 29 (KBS Arena, Seoul)
- Quarterfinals: November 2 - 5 (Sajik Indoor Gymnasium, Busan)
- Semifinals: November 11 - 12 (Sajik Indoor Gymnasium, Busan)
- Grand Finals: November 19 (Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul)
During these times, you can watch the matches on the official League of Legends Twitch channel.
Leading up to Worlds and during the event, ESI will have plenty of coverage so you can follow along with the action even if you have to miss some matches. Stay tuned for more updates on one of the biggest esports events of the year.
