5 Surprising Celebs Who Play League of Legends
League of Legends may be one of the most played games in the world, but it still seems to have that “niche” type of feeling because you don’t really see it get that much mainstream attention. Games like Fortnite, FIFA, and Madden have had plenty of celebrities playing regularly that have helped put those games into the public eye to the point where even non-gamers know what they are.
As for League, though, it’s one of those games where you probably don’t know much about it unless you’re a pretty hardcore gamer. However, there have been several celebrities and other notable people that have gotten in on the fun, exposing millions more to League of Legends over the years. Here are five of the most surprising League players:
5. Gordon Hayward
Brownsburg, Indiana native Gordon Hayward is considered to be one of the best college basketball players of the 2000s, and his game translated into the NBA. Hayward was selected ninth overall in the 2010 NBA Draft and played for six seasons with the Utah Jazz before heading to Boston and eventually Charlotte.
Hayward is one of the biggest gamers in the NBA and has shown up at multiple major League of Legends tournaments. Hayward has streamed some of his gameplay but did negatively talk about the LoL community. He mentioned that League players were “so toxic” when compared to other NBA players.
4. Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber has been one of the biggest names in music since he was discovered on YouTube and thrust into the mainstream spotlight. Thanks to songs like “Baby”, “Sorry” and “Love Yourself”, Bieber is one of the best-selling artists of his generation. During the earlier parts of his career, Bieber was known for being a hardcore gamer.
One of the many games that Bieber got into playing was League of Legends. He tweeted about his newfound love for the game and said that Teemo was his favorite. The tweet got thousands of responses and even got #LeagueOfBieber trending on the social media platform. It’s unclear if Bieber ended up being a hardcore LoL player, but it was nice to see him talking about it to his young fans.
3. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
One of the more well-known representatives in the United States Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez assumed office in January 2019 thanks to a grassroots campaign in the Bronx and Queens. Known to most as AOC, she gets more media coverage than most Congress members due to her youth and stances on several key issues.
Part of AOC’s ability to garner attention from younger voters is the fact that she understands the importance of live streaming. After playing games like “Among Us” on Twitch, AOC revealed that she’s an avid League player and made it to Silver III during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Claudio Castagnoli
One of the best technical professional wrestlers, Claudio Castagnoli has spent time with Ring of Honor, World Wrestling Entertainment, All Elite Wrestling, and many more. Known during his time in the WWE as Antonio Cesaro, he was part of the UpUpDownDown channel on YouTube and showed off his skills at League of Legends.
At first, Castagnoli had some trouble learning the ins-and-outs of the game, but eventually figured out how to make things work. He got up to a Silver III during his time in the WWE and said that he had no plans of stopping. He even streams on Twitch as ClaudiosCafe.
1. Dan Reynolds
Imagine Dragons has been among the most commercially successful bands of the 21st century, and it starts with lead singer Dan Reynolds. The Las Vegas native shot into stardom in the late 2000s as Imagine Dragons started to take off, and the band has been synonymous with League of Legends for many years.
Every member of the band is hardcore into LoL, and he has several favorite champions that he uses, including Lulu. At one point when waiting to enter a game from the queue, Reynolds belted out his hit song “Enemy” which was used in the animated series “Arcane” based on League of Legends.
