Who are the mystery champions in League’s season 2023 missions?

Alongside the launch of season 2023 in League of Legends, a handful of celebratory missions are now available for players to complete, awarding them with a bunch of helpful items to prepare them for the ranked grind. Players will have until Jan. 24, the release of Patch 13.2, to complete a total of nine missions, each requiring specific tasks to be completed before the rewards can be obtained.

Like previous iterations of event missions, this set of missions contains some peculiar riddles that players will have to solve to progress, with the only hints available being in the mission descriptions themselves.

One of the ways to complete these missions is by playing a game as or with the “mystery champion.” Players can either do this or earn 450 points from playing or winning games. Yet there appears to be no indication as to who these “mystery champions” are—unless players look closely at the quote provided as the mission description.

These missions will seemingly be unlocked daily across nine days, featuring a different riddle each day that requires playing with or as a specific champion to complete.

But for some players, particularly those unfamiliar with the extensive lore of League or just joining the game for the first time, these riddles are simply too tedious to try and answer. Here are the answers to the mystery champion riddles in the season 2023 missions.

Current mystery champion in League’s season 2023 missions, explained

Mission nine of nine: “Why? Because I can” answer

The ninth and final mystery champion mission in this quest line is accompanied by the quote: “Why? Because I can.” Based on this line and the champion shard from the eighth mission, the ninth mystery champion should be Katarina. Play one game as or with Katarina to complete the last mission, which will earn you the 2023 Season Start ward and Season 2023 icon.

Previous mystery champions in League’s season 2023 missions

Mission eight of nine: “I will become what I must be” answer

The eighth mystery champion is Yorick, as teased by the previous mission’s champion shard reward. The clue for this mission is the quote: “I will become what I must be.” Thus, if you play a game as or with Yorick, you will move on to the ninth and (seemingly) final mission in this quest line. The reward for the eighth mission is a Katarina champion shard, which likely means she is the final mystery champion. Players will also earn another Hextech Chest and Key for completing mission eight of nine.

Mission seven of nine: “I will teach them to fear me” answer

As hinted at by the sixth mission’s champion shard, the seventh mystery champion for this quest line should be Aatrox. The quote provided this time reads: “I will teach them to fear me.” Playing a game as or with Aatrox should allow you to move on to the second-to-last mission in this series of tasks. Based on the champion shard reward for the seventh mission, Yorick should be the next mystery champion.

Mission six of nine: “Every mistake, a lesson” answer

The clue for the sixth mystery champion in this set of missions is a quote that reads “every mistake, a lesson.” This quote comes from Wukong, who is thus the answer to this segment of the mission. If you play a game as or with Wukong, you’ll move on to the seventh mystery champion, who is likely Aatrox based on the champion shard reward for the sixth portion of this quest line. You’ll also earn a Hextech Chest and Key as a reward for completing the sixth mystery champion mission.

Mission five of nine: “I have found my limit a thousand times and still I press further” answer

“I have found my limit a thousand times and still I press further” is the hint for the fifth mystery champion mission. This quote is said by Pantheon, who is the answer for this mission. Therefore, you need to play one game as or with Pantheon to complete this task. Once you do, you’ll receive a Wukong champion shard as a reward, which likely indicates that Wukong will be the sixth mystery champion for this set of missions.

Mission four of nine: “Trusting nothing but my strength” answer

The fourth mission is accompanied by a quote that says “trusting nothing but my strength.” This is a quote from Sejuani, who is thus the fourth mystery champion. If you play a game as or with Sejuani, you’ll complete this mission and move on to step five. Pantheon is the champion shard reward for this mission, which means he is likely the fifth mystery champion.

Mission three of nine: “What lies beyond the shrouded path?” answer

The third mystery champion mission comes with a hint in the form of the quote: “What lies beyond the shrouded path?” The answer in this case is Zed since this is one of his quotes. This means you simply have to play a game as or with a Zed to move on to the fourth mission in this quest line.

This continues the trend of the previous mission’s champion shard reward being the following mission’s answer (a Zed champion shard was awarded for the second part of this mission). If this pattern continues, Sejuani could be the next mystery champion because a Sejuani champion shard is awarded for completing today’s mission.

Mission two of nine: “Yet I do not fear the darkness” answer

The second mystery champion mission of the 2023 ranked season speaks about a champion who says “Yet I do not fear the darkness.” While some players have quickly jumped to the conclusion that it’s said by a champion that fights the darkness itself, like Lux, that’s not the case. Instead, it’s spoken by Yasuo. Multiple players reported to have completed this mission with multiple champion compositions, and one thing they all had in common is Yasuo.

As a result, playing a game as or with Yasuo will lead to completing this quest.

Notably, a Yasuo champion shard was the reward for the previous day’s mission, possibly indicating a trend for the following riddles to come.

Mission one of nine: “I stand at the brink of infinity” answer

The first of the season 2023 missions is simply titled with a quote: “I stand at the brink of infinity.” This references the season’s cinematic, titled “Brink of Infinity,” which featured a look through a high-definition version of Summoner’s Rift—though received massive backlash from the community due to the lack of action and lore development, leading to a response from Riot.

Keen-eyed players may notice that this quote is said by Xerath, the Magus Ascendant. Therefore, playing a game with a Xerath will lead to the successful completion of this first step and the reward of a Yasuo champion shard and season 2023 kickoff icon.