Recently, SKT and Koo Tigers duked it out at Worlds in an all-Korean final. To commemorate that event, let’s talk about the best part of the LCK. OGN has always provided quality introductions to accommodate their League of Legends tournaments. Here are the ten intros that I felt were the best representation of the work that OGN has put in over the past three years.
Honorable Mention: LOL Champs Spring 2014 Final
This was originally my number ten, until it was bumped down for the current number ten. The use of shadows and sound effects in this piece brought a sleek touch. However, the music while fitting was quite plain and uninteresting. Overall, this intro is quite a blase pick that happens to edge out the remaining picks for me.
10. League of Legends World Championship 2014 Final
This intro is just too much fun for me. Centered around the use of Blue Stahi’s Suit Up, the introduction made for the finals of the Season 4 World Championship is a well made spectacle. The slow motion camera work at the beginning sets off a good pace for the intro, the lighting is amazing, and the switch into the main part of the intro during Mata’s head turn flows well. The overall atmosphere is well contained and the text used is sleek. It did a great job of creating hype for the set.
9. LOL Champs Spring 2013 Final
This intro is quite the interesting one. It has a hint of dated graphics, but is definitely one I would not leave off a list regardless. While the intro itself isn’t anything special, it has it’s small charm. I love the player posing and how there is the presentation line of players being listed. There is the first big inclusion of the Flame shot, and the Captain Jack shot with Imp is hilarious due to their size differences. The color scheme is quite a nice one that works well in this situation. The only thing that I found subpar is the song, 3OH!3’s Do Or Die. While it fits the intro, it isn’t much fun to listen to. Future intros just work the audio-cinematography synergy better. That aside, this piece is still enjoyable to watch every time.
8. Masters 2014
This intro is the first and only intro from OGN to utilize a rap song, Wiz Khalifa’s We Own It featuring 2 Chainz, and do they use it well. Starting with a shot of Acorn walking into a locker room with the other Samsung players preparing for their fight, the cinematography shows the camaraderie of Samsung and the looming strength of SKT. If the SKT footage was as well handled as the the Samsung ones, it would no doubt place a bit higher for me. However, with Dade and Faker intently glaring at one another, there is no lack of hype brought.
7. LOL Champs Summer 2013 Final
The best two teams in Korea at the time, KT Bullets and SKT T1 K, were about to face off in one of the most competitive sets in OGN history. Tensions were high, and that is portrayed directly to the viewer. Featuring Dirtyphonics’ Dirty, the use of fade in fade out transitional cuts, alongside the setup of the blue and red lighting made for a good basis to the piece. The posing of the players was done crisply, accompanied by pacing that left little room throughout for your eyes to sleep. Overall, this intro gave this legendary set a strong start.
6. LOL Champs Summer 2014
Following the disappointment of the Spring 2014 intro, OGN decided not to play around. This one is pretty much one for the fans. With fan favorite and top players featured and the Watch snap, Faker’s hand, and the Flame shot present, it is hard to not crack a smile at this. They even have Samsung Blue ascending to the heavens for solidified epicness. The CGI used also took a huge step forward overall, with the crystals looking crisper and much more realistic. The culmination of all the time spent and the hard work put into the CGI since the awkward animation of the first intro really showed and it was fun to watch.
5. LOL Champs Winter 2013 – 2014
Starting off with a chest height shot of Faker before turning into a full slow motion shot of SKT T1 K, this intro caps off the top five of this list. The color scheme of black and pink really popped for me. The way the colors played off each other and create this sleek, suave atmosphere is really what makes me love it. Also, the song picked, APNEA’s Dead Quartet, is superb and fits the cinematic perfectly. Without it, the intro would feel incomplete. There is even a nice piece of Watch, LongPanda’s Death Note signing, and the expected Flame shot. The animation leading into Shy as the final boss was just the icing on a great pink and black cake.
4. LOL Champs Summer 2013
Featuring the use of team tattoos appearing on the back, arms and shoulders of the players, this intro. The atmosphere on this piece is quite heavy, smoky, and honestly quite thick; this is accentuated by the musical accompaniment, the Bassnectar remix of Steve Aoki’s The Kids Will Have Their Say. The presentation and the animation of the team logos, as well as the posing of the players, look amazing. This holds especially true with the “fire and ice” motif of Flame and Madlife, paired with the beat drop. With the closing of Faker’s hand comes the end does one of my favorite and most replayed intros ever.
3. LOL Champs Winter 2013 – 2014 Finals
This one is just a visual spectacle. It’s as if OGN thought about how to make the most artsy piece they could think of. This intro is smooth and just bleeds “Samsung” for the world to see. With Imagine Dragons’ Radioactive in the background, the black and white filter brings the right feel to the video. There is just so much to talk about. The flow of smoke into the cube, the cube on fire, the explosion behind Mata, Bengi emerging from smoke, the light turning on at the beginning, the burning OGN logo. All of this adds to the atmosphere and makes an unforgettable intro overall. Faker rising from the throne was just the crowning touch. All that can be said is that the piece felt so compact, complete, and just so right.
2. LOL Champs Summer 2015 Final
As soon as I saw this the first time, I knew it had to be in my top three. This heralded the latest mark in the classic Telecom War matchup between Piccaboo-resuscitated KT Rolster and the dominant SK Telecom. The storyline in the video is crafted with perfection, showcasing the previous achievements of both organizations either via a film projector or splattered in between the presentations of players. This brings back memories and pulls together the whole piece. There are also many impressive shots. The pan of Faker looking up while the shot of the kissing of the cup spread out behind him was superbly done and gave a sense of reverence for the star mid. The eye to eye transition between Score and Piccaboo (and the Picaboo turn afterwards) was just too smooth. These are only two of many that I could go all day about. The transition between Faker, Marin, Score and Arrow and the rapid cuts leading to the open eyed face of Faker put the crown on this amazing intro. If OGN can make something like this, then I am excited and will be waiting for the lofty heights that OGN will reach in the next season.
1. LOL Champs Summer 2014 Final
I had a tough time picking between the two summer intros, going to endless conversations and debates over it. Both bring great cinematographic work, narrative and flow, however the Summer 2014 intro featuring the previous OGN champions Samsung Blue and Kakao-led KT Rolster Arrows barely edges the more recent Summer . The intro is the epitome of OGN-created works in League of Legends. Imagine Dragons’s Do Or Die, as with the previously used Radioactive, fit hand in hand with the overall theme and color scheme of the video. Watching the use of dolly in zoom out on Dade’s shot as a learning filmer made me excited every time I saw it and was used perfectly. This is one of the few good shots that are created. From Ssumday on the steps and Kakao walking up the stairs, to Spirit (in all his misspelled glory) looking back onto the train and the intent stares at the end, there is no lack of energy bubbling from the cracks of the video. Overall, this is the best intro that OGN has created and I would love to see more like this and Summer 2015 in the future.
