Riot Games is bringing two of its biggest virtual acts to the biggest stage in esports. K/DA and True Damage will both perform at the Worlds 2026 Opening Ceremony, ahead of the League of Legends World Championship final at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The official League of Legends account confirmed the news, telling fans to "Get ready to welcome K/DA and True Damage back to the #Worlds2026 Opening Ceremony stage."
When And Where To Watch
According to the official poster, the Opening Ceremony Presented by Mastercard takes place on November 14 at 11 AM PT, which is 2 PM ET, and will stream live on lolesports.com. The final itself follows the ceremony at Barclays Center, closing out a tournament that started with the Play-In Stage in Los Angeles in mid-October.
Riot hasn't revealed a full setlist, but both acts have fresh music to draw from. K/DA's official release schedule ends with a "Live Performance At Worlds 2026" on November 14, and True Damage is the voice of this year's official anthem.
True Damage Returns With Know My Name
True Damage made history this year as the first of Riot's virtual artists to perform a Worlds anthem. The group's track, Know My Name, is the 13th official Worlds anthem, and its music video celebrates Faker and T1's run to a three-peat.
The lineup has changed since the group's debut. Know My Name features SOYEON of i-dle alongside Coco Jones, Vic Mensa and Sofia Reyes, with the band still built around Akali, Ekko, Qiyana, Senna and Yasuo. Riot had already confirmed that True Damage would take the stage at the final, but this is the first time it has confirmed K/DA will be joining them.
K/DA's New Era Hits The Stage
K/DA heads to New York fresh off the release of its four-track FIRESTARTER EP, which dropped yesterday. MIYEON and SOYEON of i-dle return as Ahri and Akali, while Sophie Powers joins as Evelynn and Mimi Webb as Kai'Sa. The title track's music video was animated by Fortiche, the studio behind Arcane, and Riot says it drew 9.2 million views in its first 24 hours.
The rollout leading up to the show is packed. K/DA's official schedule has a WATCH ME lyric video arriving tomorrow, a NEVER GOING BACK visualizer next week, and a video for GIRLS, the group's collaboration with DJ Sona, premiering on Spotify in early November before its general release a couple of days later. By the time the group reaches Barclays Center, fans should have visuals for every song on the EP.
That makes SOYEON the busiest performer of the night on paper, as she features in both groups. Whether Riot has her pull double duty on stage hasn't been confirmed.
A Look Back At Their Worlds History
Both groups have serious Worlds pedigree. K/DA debuted at the Worlds 2018 final in South Korea, where augmented reality versions of the champions performed POP/STARS alongside the real singers. That moment turned the song into a global hit, and K/DA returned for Worlds 2020.
True Damage made its debut at the Worlds 2019 final in Paris with GIANTS, a performance that mixed real artists with holographic champions. You can rewatch it below.
Riot's Music Push Continues
The Worlds performance is the centerpiece of a much larger K/DA push. Secretlab has launched a K/DA FIRESTARTER chair and desk collection, Riftbound has a K/DA Couture Collection on the way, and leakers claim a DJ Sona skin could follow the new song GIRLS. In the game, the Battle of the Bands event is running with new skins for K/DA, True Damage and HEARTSTEEL.
HEARTSTEEL isn't on the Worlds poster, so for now, it looks like the Barclays Center stage belongs to K/DA and True Damage.
Which group are you more excited to see at the Worlds 2026 final, K/DA or True Damage?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.