KiiiKiii to perform at 2026 LCK Grand Finals opening ceremony

The K-pop group KiiiKiii will perform at the opening ceremony of the 2026 LCK Grand Finals. The ceremony will take place on September 13 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea. The performance will continue the recent connection between K-pop and League of Legends esports, with KiiiKiii already having collaborated with the LCK on two songs this season. The group will perform at the final following the release of “Leave Your Mark pt. 2” and “Pain In The Dark”. Leave Your Mark pt. 2 was released on August 18 and follows “Leave Your Mark”, which was unveiled alongside the LCK's title sequence at the beginning of the season.

Meanwhile, Pain In The Dark was released on August 25 and was created specifically for the 2026 LCK Grand Finals opening ceremony. The song was inspired by Locke, the most recent League of Legends champion introduced this year, and focuses on the wounds and pain encountered throughout a journey and the determination to overcome them through one's own strength.

KiiiKiii debuted in March 2025 under Starship Entertainment with the EP Uncut Gem. The group consists of Jiyu, Leesol, Sui, Haum and Kya. The group released its latest EP, WhyKiiiKiii, on August 10.

KiiiKiii's appearance at the LCK Grand Finals will come one year after Park Minju, a member of K-pop group ILLIT, performed at the opening ceremony of the 2025 LCK Grand Finals. Minju took the stage at the Inspire Arena in Incheon on September 28, 2025, performing “Bite Marks” and “Here, Tomorrow”, the cinematic theme songs for the first two seasons of League of Legends on that year. She also appeared dressed as Katarina during the performance.

The 2026 ceremony will therefore mark another occasion in which a K-pop artist performs at the LCK's biggest domestic event, this time with KiiiKiii performing songs directly connected to the current LCK season.

The relationship between League of Legends and K-pop goes beyond LCK ceremonies. Riot Games has repeatedly worked with South Korean artists for some of the game's biggest musical projects. One of the most notable examples is K/DA, Riot's virtual K-pop group featuring League of Legends champions Ahri, Akali, Evelynn and Kai'Sa. The group debuted with “POP/STARS” at the 2018 World Championship, with I-DLE's Soyeon and Miyeon among the artists providing vocals.

I-DLE later returned for K/DA's 2020 EP ALL OUT, contributing to “THE BADDEST” and “MORE”. TWICE also joined the project for “I'LL SHOW YOU”, featuring Jihyo, Nayeon, Sana and Chaeyoung. Riot Games also partnered directly with NewJeans for the 2023 World Championship anthem “GODS”. The song was released as the official theme for Worlds 2023 and accompanied a music video centered around professional League of Legends player Kim "" Hyuk-kyu and his career.