One of Riot's biggest things that they are known for is their League music, characters, stories, and esports that have been a shared language for more than a decade, and their newest partnership is meant to put that next to grabbing a drink with friends. Riot has announced that they are collabing HEARTSTEEL with Chi Cha San Chen shops, with goodies for fans of all kinds.
The shop list is long for a bubble-tea drop. United States stores are in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. Canada covers British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Sawtelle in Los Angeles and Duluth, Georgia, get named on-site events. Sawtelle runs September 25 and October 17. Duluth is October 2. Chi Cha's Instagram is where extra activations land.
What you actually walk out with is drink-menu fiction plus paper. Each collab wave gets a custom drink. Collectible photocards, one per band member. Limited packaging designed for the act. A chance at a month of free Chi Cha drinks and other promo prizes. No in-game code was attached to the announcement. This is a store activation, not a skin token in your loot tab.
HEARTSTEEL is the virtual boy band that Riot stood up in 2023 around Ezreal, Kayn, Yone, Aphelios, K'Sante, and Sett. Baekhyun is back as Ezreal for the new single Live My Life, due on streaming platforms September 18 at 9 a.m. PT. Esports.gg reported Anderson .Paak, Connor Price, and Nic D on the refreshed lineup. The tea shops open a week after that drop. Act 2 of the current League season is already wearing a music theme. The shop collab is the physical end of that same week.
Worlds 2026 starts in Los Angeles on October 15. Sawtelle sitting on Olympic Boulevard two weeks before that is not an accident of the calendar. If you are in town for the tournament, the September 25 and October 17 store days are the easy photo stop. If you are in Utah, the listed shop is the H-Mart unit in West Jordan. Toronto has four pins. The Bay Area has a stack. Check the official store list before you drive. Stock and photocards will vanish in the first weekend at the busy rooms.
Chi Cha San Chen is a Taiwanese tea chain with a heavy North American footprint in exactly the cities League already markets to. This is not a global cafe takeover. Mexico, Europe, and Korea are not on the page. Riot said more events could be added and to watch the local store.
Riot has done restaurant crossovers before. This one is timed to a music act instead of a Worlds skin line. Live My Life hits the 18th. Shops open the 25th. LA plays host in October. The rest of the map is a scavenger hunt for whoever still wants a photocard of a virtual idol on a plastic cup. Read more about the collab here.
Are you showing up for the drink, the photocard, or skipping the cafe and just streaming Live My Life on the 18th? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.