League of Legends Worlds 2025 Final Opening Ceremony

One of the biggest esports events of the year, the League of Legends Worlds 2025 Final Opening Ceremony took place in Chengdu, China. In collaboration with ConCom Inc and DLM Rigging, we were contracted for the lifting of scenic elements for ACT III using our Qmotion automation system.

The ceremony brought Worlds to life, the set design an extension of the content being played on the large-scale multimedia screen backdrop. We rigged ten polystyrene rocks that hung suspended in front of the screen, helping to blur the line between fantasy and reality.

As the gameplay portrayed a loss in gravity and on-screen elements started to rise, simultaneously the scenic rocks and DJ booth started to rise in front of the audience.

Automated and controlled by our Qmotion system, each rock was lifted using a 22 kW JAF Winch Slow, rigged using two lines in a roll on roll off system. With the winches positioned at a 90^o angle to the pieces, we manufactured an adaptive plate to house the sheave so that the wire came up through the drum and onto the sheave to change the direction of travel.

We manufactured the DJ platform using 100mmx80mm box section mild steel covered in 3mm mirror Dibond, rigged with four lines and lifted using two 22 kW JAF Winch Fast. Using our Galileo console, the automation of the lift was controlled with the deployment of a new CAN bus protocol that allowed the synchronisation of the two winches to prevent any tilting of the platform.

We applied a 1:10 factor of safety to the flying and rigging of the DJ and his platform. Our engineers calculated the ballast requirements for the winches in the system and the consequent imposed loads on the venue. This project was a fine example of how we leverage our engineering capabilities to deliver great looking shows.