Here’s a first look at new LoL champion Viego, the Ruined King

During the season 2021 live stream, Riot gave fans a first look at the first new champion of 2021, Viego. 

The Ruined King is finally coming to League of Legends after years of waiting. Riot gave a first look at Viego through an intense cinematic, showcasing Viego as the next big villain in the Runeterra universe.

Even though Viego will likely hit Summoner’s Rift in the very near future, only a small teaser of his gameplay was shown during the stream. From the teaser, it was clear that Viego is able to take over enemy champions and briefly play as them. More specifically, Viego took over the soul of Lucian after killing him in the quick clip presented, giving him Lucian’s abilities for a brief moment. For a more in-depth look at Viego’s kit, Riot already released an ability rundown. 

If the release of the Ruined King himself wasn’t enough, Riot will also be introducing a brand new skin line in the Ruined theme. In the first round of skins, Draven, Karma, and Shyvana will be the lucky recipients of the new evil cosmetics. Riot also confirmed that the release of Viego will only be the start of the Ruined King story. The next three champions to release this year will also “tie into Viego’s return”.

Viego is expected to hit the PBE very soon and release later in January. 

When will Viego release in LoL?

It’s still unknown when Viego will be released, but everything is pointing towards patch 11.2, which launches January 11. Before that, Viego will become available on the Public Beta Environment (PBE) for testing. More information about Viego and his release date will likely follow very soon. 

“If you wanna try him out yourself, he will be hitting PBE very soon and goes live later this month,” Riot said. 

What role is Viego in LoL?

During the 2021 season-opening day live stream, Riot confirmed that Viego will be a jungle champion. This was already teased in a recent champion roadmap post that Riot released in September 2020.