FunPlus Phoenix Reveal their Worlds champion skins

Kim "Doinb" Tae-sang revealed his squad decided on Gangplank, Lee Sin, Malphite, Thresh and Vayne as the five League of Legends champions which will receive the FunPlus Phoenix World Championship skins later this year as a commemoration for their success at 2019 World Championship.

As it has become a tradition, each year after the League of Legends World Championship ends, the titleholders get to pick five champions, which then receive their own World Championship skins in commemoration of the team's success. The tradition of releasing "World Championship skins" began in Season 1 World Championship back in 2011, when Fnatic secured the inaugural Worlds title and with it, received five Fnatic-themed skins.

The tradition continued throughout the years, meaning the League of Legends already received 40 such skins to date, and we are set to see another five find their way into the game sometime in the next couple of months, this time in the colours of the reigning world champions – FunPlus Phoenix.

Which five skins will FPX receive remained shrouded in mist until this weekend, when FPX's mid lane carry Doinb revealed that his team decided to pick Gangplank, Lee Sin, Malphite, Vayne and Thresh as the five champions which will receive the new world championship skins.

The 23-year-old LoL superstar made the announcement during one of his streams, where he unveiled he was initially hoping for a Yasuo skin, however, was unable to pick the champion since he hadn't played Yasuo during the World Championship. Instead, Doinb chose Malphite, which might be an odd choice, considering Malphite is rarely the go-to champion for pro players, yet Doinb provided a very intriguing explanation as of why he chose the "Shard of the Monolith".

Doinb played only one match with Malphite at Worlds 2019, during the group stage, when FPX played against GAM Esports, so it's safe to say Malphite did not play a particularly important role in FPX's road to the Summoner's Cup. Perhaps, it would be more understandable, if Doinb picked Ryze as his champion, seeing how he played a total of six games with the said champion and won five of them, however, Doinb decided otherwise.

As explained by the Chinese LoL star, he chose Malphite for his wife, because the pick is one of the few champions she uses while playing League of Legends. Doinb also stated that he chose Malphite so many other players could use his skin, given how easy and mechanically undemanding Malphite is, meaning even some less-skilled players will get to enjoy the FPX-themed Malphite skin.

Unlike Doinb, his teammates chose champions which make a lot more sense in terms of what they played the most during the World Championship and which champions played a pivotal role in FPX's success.

FPX's jungler Gao "Tian" Tian-Liang decided to pick Lee Sin which he played in six games throughout the tournament, with three of those six in the Worlds grand finals against G2. The team's top laner Kim "GimGoon" Han-saem, on the other side, chose Gangplank, which he used six times throughout the tournament and averaged an impressive 8.9 KDA.

Many expected Lin "Lwx" Wei-Xiang to choose Kai'Sa, considering he played six games on the champion, however, he instead picked Vayne, which he played twice throughout Worlds. His decision might be slightly shocking to some, however, there is no going around the fact Vayne is still one of the most popular marksman champions in the game, which will now receive its 11th skin. It will also be Vayne's second World Championship skin, having previously received the SKT T1-themed skin in 2014.

Lwx's bottom lane partner Liu "Crisp" Qing-Song on the other side chose Thresh, which he played four times throughout the tournament and boasted with a 100% win rate. The FPX's world championship skin will be the ninth Thresh skin to date and the second world championship skin, having previously received an SSW (Samsung White) skin in 2015.

As it stands now, there have been no announcements from Riot Games, about when the Worlds skins will find their way into the game. Invictus Gaming received their champion skins in April, while Samsung Galaxy received their in June, so it's safe to say we can expect the skins to arrive onto the Rift sometime by summer, possibly even sooner.

All World Championship skins to date:

2011 – Fnatic: Gragas, Jarvan IV, Karthus, Janna, Corki

2012 – Taipei Assasins: Dr. Mundo, Nunu, Orianna, Shen, Ezreal

2013 – SKT T1:  Jax, Lee Sin, Zed, Zyra, Vayne

2014 – SSW: Singed, Rengar, Talon, Thresh, Twitch

2015 – SKT T1: Renekton, Elise, Ryze, Azir, Kalista

2016 – SKT T1: Olaf, Zac, Ekko, Syndra, Jhin

2017 – SSG: Gnar, Jarvan IV, Taliyah, Rakan, Xayah

2018 – IG: Fiora, Camille, Irelia, LeBlanc, Kai'Sa

2019 – FPX: Gangplank, Lee Sin, Malphite, Thresh, Vayne