Champions 2026 Traded Pop Hooks for a Mosh Pit
Riot tapped Bring Me The Horizon's Oli Sykes and Spiritbox's Courtney LaPlante for the 2026 Champions anthem, and the genre shift is the best call they've made with this tradition in years.
Riot dropped the teaser for "If The Sun Burns Out Tonight" yesterday, the Champions 2026 anthem, and my first reaction watching it was relief. Finally, an anthem that sounds like it belongs at a Grand Final and not a pregame lobby playlist.
Who's On It
Oli Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon and Courtney LaPlante from Spiritbox trading vocals, with Grabbitz back in the producer's chair for his fourth VALORANT anthem. That's not a random pairing. Sykes and LaPlante both come from bands that built careers on the exact kind of controlled chaos a Champions crowd goes feral for. Thirty seconds of teaser and it already sounds heavier than anything Riot's put out for this event before.
The Anthem Ceiling Has Been Low
Go back through the list. "Die For You" in 2021 still holds up. Everything after leaned pop or hyperpop: Ashnikko, bbno$, KISS OF LIFE, then last year's "Last Shot" with templuv and 347aidan, which I liked fine and forgot about a week later. None of them matched the actual energy of watching a best-of-five game five at Champions. A song built for a highlight reel needs teeth, not a hook you skip after the third listen.
Where I Land
I've been unimpressed by this tradition for three years running and said so quietly to anyone who'd listen. This is the first pick that actually reads the room. Shanghai hosts Champions this September into October, the full track drops sometime this fall, and if the teaser's any indication of where it goes, this is the one anthem I'm not skipping on the walk-in.