Olivia Richman 
2XKO is Riot Games’ highly anticipated tag fighting game and one of the biggest questions is which champions are going to appear on its roster of fighters.
Despite previously seeming like it was quietly canceled amid a downsizing at Riot Games, 2XKO is now entering early access. Gamers will be able to freely download the game on PC starting in October. While it’s been a long road, the game’s full release on consoles is also is approaching.
With Riot running 2XKO playtests and the game evolving in front of players’ eyes, fans are getting a good feel for what’s coming. Established League of Legends fans might be wondering if their main is going to appear in the game. That makes it worth going over all the champions confirmed for the game, and who might be coming later on.
All confirmed champions on 2XKO base roster
A small number of champions have been confirmed for the 2XKO base roster, with the list including fan favorites such as Jinx, Yasuo, and Ahri.
Riot Games won’t have an especially robust roster when 2XKO first launches. Though 2XKO has been confirmed for years, the game will ultimately launch with just 10. While that’s quite a bit more than the early closed betas, which had just four, it’s still light compared to other fighting games.
Here are the champions that have been confirmed as part of 2XKO roster:
- Ahri
- Blitzcrank
- Braum
- Darius
- Jinx
- Ekko
- Illaoi
- Teemo
- Vi
- Warwick
- Yasuo
The lineup of 2XKO champions is predominantly made up of fan favorites, with a couple of surprises. The roster heavily draws from Arcane, featuring three of its main characters in Jinx, Vi, and Ekko. Ahri, Darius, and Yasuo represent some of the most popular characters in League of Legends, who are frequently incorporated in Riot Games’ mixed media related to the game.
Others such as Braum, Blitzcrank, and Illaoi are a bit more surprising, though they are also fairly distinct characters within LoL’s roster. Riot Games has already officially stated that there are many more to come, though.
Will 2XKO have DLC fighters?
2XKO is confirmed to be shipping a new DLC fighter at the start of each season. For the game’s first year, it will have at least five seasons. That should see the game have 15 different playable champions by the end of 2026.
League of Legends and Valorant offer players the option to grind their way to unlocking new playable characters or pay their way into early access. In interviews regarding 2XKO, executive producer Tom Cannon suggested 2XKO will have a similar free-to-play model.
Which champions will be DLC fighters?
Akali, Lux, Evelynn, Jhin, and Katarina rank among the most likely champions to come to 2XKO.
There’s no defined rhyme or reason to which champions are getting added to the 2XKO roster thus far, but Riot plays favorites in LoL and that favoritism spans across games. Riot seems to be looking for characters that are popular, have ties to other League of Legends media, and have a design that clearly indicates what they do. Lux, Akali, and Katarina fit that bill better than anyone.
Akali and Evelynn are clear favorites among fans and Riot developers, given how regularly they get new skins. They’re also recognizable outside League of Legends’ immediate fandom as members of virtual band K/DA. Akali’s ninja-style kit translates to 2XKO in an obvious way, while Evelynn’s mix of long and short-range spells naturally translates to a fighting game.
Lux and Jhin are also strong candidates for 2XKO. Both were featured prominently in League of Legends comic books, and are highly popular among players. Their kits could also make them straightforward zoners.
Past those, other main characters from Arcane could make the cut. Viktor, Jayce, and Caitlyn all rank among the most recognizable League of Legends champions, thanks to their prominent role in the show.
Katarina likely to come in the future
Katarina is reportedly set to be added to the 2XKO roster in the future.
At one point, it was confirmed that Katarina was going to be in the game. She was featured in early marketing materials for Project L, but fans started to wonder about Katarina’s inclusion as time went on. As more and more marketing materials came out, Katarina just wasn’t seen.
At one point, Smash Bros veteran and top Guilty Gear Strive player William “Leffen” Hjelte stated that she was being completely reworked and her arrival could be delayed.
Katarina stands as a highly popular League of Legends champion and has a look and spell lineup that would fit well in 2XKO. Given how she was among the first characters shown in Project L, players should expect her to come out at some point. Probably soon.
