For the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational, Riot Games once again gave League of Legends fans the chance to submit their pick’ems—predicting which teams would advance through each stage of the tournament. A range of rewards were on offer, from a simple icon for the lowest tiers to a Spirit Blossom Hwei skin for the top 2,500 players. But for the 4,222 players who achieved a perfect bracket, Riot awarded every ultimate skin in the game. That’s seven skins, each priced at 3,250 RP, for a total of 22,750 RP—nearly €200 worth of cosmetics.

The first ultimate skin released was Pulsefire Ezreal on June 29, 2012, followed by Spirit Guard Udyr in 2013, DJ Sona in 2015, Elementalist Lux in 2016, Gun Goddess Miss Fortune in 2018, K/DA ALL OUT Seraphine in late 2020, and most recently, Soul Fighter Samira in 2023. These seven ultimate skins were granted to the 4,222 players who completed a perfect run in the MSI 2025 pick’ems. Most of these skins are part of larger thematic skin lines—such as the Soul Fighter series for Samira, Pulsefire for Ezreal, or K/DA ALL OUT for Seraphine.

Branding and customer engagement

As a free-to-play game, League of Legends relies heavily on the sale of cosmetics to generate revenue. Players are highly engaged when it comes to customizing their favorite champions, often willing to spend significant amounts of money on premium skins. Riot Games places great importance on skins, constantly releasing new ones. However, the company has faced criticism over the pricing of certain cosmetics—some reaching up to €500, such as the commemorative skins for Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok’s Ahri or Jian "Uzi" Zihao’s Kai’Sa. Riot has also drawn backlash for implementing gacha-like systems, notably with the Arcane Fractured Jinx skin.

This year’s MSI concluded on Saturday, July 12, with Gen.G crowned champions after a thrilling 3–2 victory over T1 in the grand final. The tournament spanned over two weeks and delivered countless memorable moments, including several full five-game series—not just in the final, but also in the matches that led both Korean teams there. While Gen.G took home the trophy, the event also showcased the dominance of the LCK over the rest of the world.

Both Gen.G and T1 defeated Anyone’s Legend and Bilibili Gaming, reinforcing the gap between the South Korean powerhouses and their international competition. Next up is the Esports World Cup, kicking off on July 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As for regional leagues, the LPL will resume on July 19, while the LCK will return on July 23 for its Rounds 3-5.