League of Legends fans might not have to wait much longer to learn more about the game’s next champion.
Various leaks of the supposed new melee bot laner champion began circulating earlier this week, including the champion’s alleged name and appearance. One of the leaks comes from content creator Ryscu, who suggested on June 6 that the previously teased champion will be called Nilah. Similarly, Big Bad Bear, a well-known leaker, said in a new video today that the new champion will land on the Rift within a month alongside the rumored new Star Guardian event.
Riot Games revealed its plans for the upcoming champions for League last April in its Champion Roadmap, including “a colorful but deadly stranger” coming from a land “across the seas,” which, according to the leaks, is supposed to be Nilah. Along with a short story called “A Joyous Occasion” that introduced the next champion, Riot included an image in a YouTube video representing various multicolored hands in different positions that might suggest different martial arts techniques being used by the new character. According to the short tale, a restaurant owner heard splashing water sounds in the mist and joyous laughter before seeing “rowdy” Noxians killed by a “colorful” stranger, hinting at the possibility for the next champion to be able to use water in their abilities.
An image of the possible new champion was included in the leaks, depicting what might be a girl with a whip-like sword seemingly made of water. Her monk-like suit has a heavily armored leg on which two hands are sculpted, reminiscent of the hands depicted in the teased image released by Riot. The monk-like design for the champion combined with abilities that use water might bring to mind other water-bender fictional characters and leave room for the imagination to explore what possible abilities Nilah might have.
At the beginning of the year, Riot teased the upcoming champions from Bel’Veth to a “non-traditional bot laner” that will be “whipping out” later in the year. That would fit in nicely with all the leaks about Nilah, tying in what was said in the short story, the video, and what can be deduced from the official image to depict a general image of what the next champion will look like.
