Riot is changing another esports team’s emote but players are on board this time

Riot Games is stealthy changing another potentially controversial emote created by one of its professional League of Legends teams, but this time players aren’t mad about it.

Riot is tweaking another emote created by a pro team, but this time the developer has only changed the cosmetics name. The emote, created by the Vietnamese organization Vikings Esports, features K’Sante wearing a breathing mask and was called “Lemme Breathe.”

K’Sante, a black character, asking to breathe has different connotations in the United States compared to Vietnam where it was designed.

According to Twitter/X user Spideraxe, Riot is changing the emote’s name to “Cope’Sante.” The new name not only avoids unfortunate comparisons to real-world events but also better conveys its intended meaning.

This is the third emote Riot has had to alter between the cosmetic bundle’s initial reveal and its rollout. Players called out the developer for changing the first two emotes, as those cosmetics were considered some of the best in the bundle.

This change, however, has come with a sigh of relief and surprise from players shocked the cosmetic’s original name even made it into the game.

“It was actually called lemme breathe ????” one fan said on social media.

“Good,” another fan said about the change.

Riot let teams create their own emotes for League of Legends to give them a chance at turning a profit from in-game item sales similar to Valorant’s team capsules, with teams taking a small cut of the sale.

While the Valorant cosmetic’s rollout was smooth, the League emotes have become a controversial saga for teams and the developer.