- For information about the Gnar short story, see Snow Day
Snowdown Showdown
▶️ "Welcome to Snowdown!"
The Snowdown Showdown is an event based on winter holiday festivals (most notable one being Christmas).
Riot Games Inc. introduces a few changes to the game and items that are only available in the world of Valoran. They also introduce a few cosmetic changes to the game such as themed skins and discounted runes.
Background[]
The Christmas season, also called the festive season or the holiday season, is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and Western-influenced countries that is generally considered to run from late November to early January. It is defined as incorporating at least Christmas, and usually New Year, and sometimes various other holidays and festivals. For example, modern Christmas holiday has characters like Santa Claus, Elves, and Reindeer, which thematic appearances and roles are then transfered to several other Champion skins (such as the 
Santa skin for 
Braum).
Champion Skins[]
- For more in-depth look, see Snowdown Showdown skins
The Snowdown Showdown banner for 2009
Snowdown champion skins, like Harrowing ones, have been released for a various League favorites since 2009. The first groups of these festive skins began as limited edition only - meaning once they left the store they were not coming back in the future. More recently Snowdown skins have been made Legacy, meaning after they leave the store at the end of the event there is a chance they might come back in the future for a limited time.
Limited Skins to Legacy[]
Exclusive icon
Due to League of Legends's dramatic increase in its community, the Snowdown Showdown skins that were originally released as limited edition were changed to Legacy skins in December 2013, and put back on sale during the year's holiday event. Riot stated that the
| “ | ... overwhelming player feedback has been that this creates an extremely negative experience for players who cannot acquire their favorite skin for their favorite champion. We believe that skins should be more about self-expression and fun than exclusivity, so we are rereleasing them in a limited way. |
| — Harrowing 2013 FAQ | |
 |
Veteran Player Compensation[]
Snowdown Showdown login screen for 2010
As the value of exclusivity will lower in the process of bringing back the limited edition skins, Riot is giving compensation to the veteran players that originally bought the holiday skins in 2009 and 2010. They are gifting 
RP equal to the cost of the skins they purchased, giving Vintage treatment to the loading screen of those Snowdown skins as well as an giving those players an exclusive summoner icon. For more information please check out Riot's plan for vintage Limited Edition skins post.
Snowdown Showdown Skins[]
The Snowdown Showdown log-in screen for 2011.
- 2009 Snowdown Showdown (Legacy)
The Snowdown Showdown skins for 2012.
- 2010 Snowdown Showdown (Legacy)
The Snowdown Showdown log-in screen for 2013.
- 2011 Snowdown Showdown (Legacy)
The Snowdown Showdown 2014 wallpaper featuring a large number of 
Poros.
- 2012 Snowdown Showdown (Legacy)
- 2013 Snowdown Showdown (Legacy)
- 2014 Snowdown Showdown (Legacy)
- 2015 Snowdown Showdown
Snow Day Bard (Permanent)- Snow Day Gnar (Legacy)
- Snow Day Syndra (Legacy)
- 2016 Snowdown Showdown (Legacy)
- 2017 Snowdown Showdown (Legacy)
- 2018 Snowdown Showdown (Legacy)
- 2019 Snowdown Showdown (Sugar Rush)
- 2022 Snowdown Showdown (Tales of Borealis)
- Winterblessed Diana
- Winterblessed Shaco
- Winterblessed Swain
- Winterblessed Warwick
- Prestige Winterblessed Warwick (Event exclusive or prestige points)
- Winterblessed Zilean
- Winterblessed Zoe
- 2023 Snowdown Showdown (Tales of Borealis)
Features[]
Melee minions as they appear in the Snowdown Showdown each year
Snowdown Showdown events in the past have included, but are not limited to:
- Limited edition Holiday Runes.
- Some egg-nog tasty editions of your favorite in-game consumables.
- Merrily festive costumes for your minions.
- A cold, snow-covered version of Summoner's Rift
- Historical Version (2009-2011)
- Updated Version (2016 - 2018)
- Some festive summoner icons to show off to your friends and teammates.
- Cheerful ward skins for additional map vision.
- A joyful new login screen to get you in the mood.
- Chromas for Snowndown skins to personalize your champion on the Rift (Or any other play mode).
- And gleeful Emotes to show your holiday zeal.
Chromas[]
- Snow Day Bard Chromas: Golden
- Frozen Prince Mundo Chromas: Aquamarine, Obsidian, Pearl, Rose Quartz, Ruby
- Snow Day Graves Chromas: Golden'
- Snow Day Malzahar Chromas: Golden
- Snow Man Yi Chromas: Amethyst, Obsidian, Pearl, Rose Quartz, Ruby
- Winter Wonder Neeko Chromas: Amethyst, Catseye, Emerald, Obsidian, Rainbow, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Turquoise
- Winter Wonder Soraka Chromas: Amethyst, Obsidian, Pearl, Rose Quartz, Ruby
- Ice King Twitch Chromas: Obsidian, Rainbow, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Tanzanite
- Sugar Rush Braum Chromas: Catseye, Citrine, Obsidian, Pearl, Peridot, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Sweet Tooth
- Sugar Rush Evelynn Chromas: Amethyst, Jasper, Obsidian, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Sweet Tooth
- Sugar Rush Ziggs Chromas: Amethyst, Aquamarine, Catseye, Meteorite, Peridot, Ruby, Sandstone, Sweet Tooth
- Sugar Rush Zilean Chromas: Aquamarine, Citrine, Meteorite, Peridot, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Sweet Tooth
Chromas:Emotes[]
Items[]
The health and mana potions in the item store were replaced by the 
Eggnog Health Potion and 
Eggnog Mana Potion. The effect of the potions were identical to their counterparts.
Map[]
Summoner's Rift during the Snowdown Showdown.
The Snowdown Summoner's Rift was replaced by a 'Winter' seasonal variant that includes many holiday elements.
Runes[]
During the 2009 Snowdown Showdown, special holiday runes were released and they were only available from December 16 to January 6. Three of them were Tier 1.5, and three were Tier 2.5. During the 2010 and 2011 Snowdown Showdown, only 4 runes were released.
- 2009 Snowdown Showdown
- Mark of the Crippling Candy Cane (Tier 2.5, critical damage)
- Glyph of the Special Stocking (Tier 2.5, cooldown reduction)
- Seal of the Elusive Snowflake (Tier 2.5, dodge chance)
- Mark of the Yuletide Tannenbaum (Tier 1.5, critical chance)
- Glyph of the Gracious Gift (Tier 1.5, AP per level)
- Seal of the Stout Snowman (Tier 1.5, HP per level)
- 2010 and 2011 Snowdown Showdown
Downloadable Paper Toy Templates for 2013.
- Greater Quintessence of Frosty Fortitude - Health
- Greater Quintessence of Sugar Rush - Movement speed
- Greater Quintessence of the Piercing Present - Magic penetration
- Greater Quintessence of the Deadly Wreath - Armor penetration
Summoner Icons[]
The Snowdown events from 2012 to 2017 introduced new summoner icons that a summoner could earn in celebration of the festive holiday.
Ward Skins[]
Snowdown Ward Skins art
The Snowdown Showdown of 2012 found a welcome gift in League of Legends of two ward skins to celebrate the festive season. These skins were free throughout the duration of the event.
In 2013 the two ward skins returned for free use again for the duration of the event along with the new Candy Cane ward. For a limited time, these three ward skins were also purchasable for 640 RP to add them permanently to your account.
Game modes[]
 |
|---|
Snowdown Showdown Mode[]
Snowdown Showdown Mode
You’ve shot off five Final Sparks and achieved immortality through constant Chrono Shifts, but now it’s time for a Showdown.
For the next Featured Gameplay Mode, you’ll be able to duel it out with friends and foes alike on an icy battlefield that promises contests of epic proportions.
With three paths to an honorable victory, will you go full ham and draw first blood, wave clear your way to 100 CS or channel your inner Ziggs and demolish the turret before your opponent?
If you queue up with a buddy for the beatdowns, you’ll notice that you need two kills to earn the dubya, or the two of you can combine to hit that century CS mark.Sharpen your swords and ready your hextech revolvers. The Showdown approaches this Snowdown.
Legend of the Poro King[]
| “ | "Gather your friends, for Snowdown draws near.
Don't say me, I or them, we're together this year. There's a chill in the air and frost on the scene -- In big comfy chairs, it's forward we lean Mice flicking, Keys clacking, our skillshots land clean. No earmuffs for us -- we wear headsets, you see. Minds focused, eyes wide and lit up with glee We win some, we lose some, that's how the game goes But that's fine, we're together, among friends, no foes." |
|
Legend of the Poro King mode
See also Snowdown Showdown 2014.
This year’s Snowdown brings with it our next featured game mode… and a legend. The “Legend of the Poro King”. We’ve dramatically changed what fights on the Howling Abyss will look like, so let’s get straight into the rules:
Played on the Howling Abyss, Legend of the Poro King is a 5v5 Blind Draft game mode, where your goal is still to destroy the enemy team’s nexus. However, you’ll have some Poro companions with you (to throw at each other of course), be diving deep to make #bigplays and work together to summon some help from the legendary Poro King himself.
- New summoner spells
When playing the Legend of the Poro King, your regular summoner spells are replaced with two new ones, made just for the mode:
- Despite the Poro does behave like a projectile, they are still innocent animals, not spells; ignoring the likes of Wind Wall, Unbreakable and Spell shields in general due to their uttermost majesty.
- Riot Games does not make responsible for the seemightly reckless use of Poro Toss, if PETA ask, the Poros are fake.
- Riot Games does not make responsible for the seemightly reckless use of Poro Toss, if PETA ask, the
Riot Games does not make responsible for the constant commitment of magnicide against his royal highness, but it's responsible of Poros injured in the process by the wretched and soulless teams.
The Poro King[]
The Poro King
The Poro King is benevolent and will aid whichever team has summoned him. He can be dispelled, but only to return again when enough favour has been curried with him. As a tanky siege minion, he brings an impressive power boost to whichever team he’s aiding. His powers include:
- Tanky siege minion with a LOT of health. Let him be your front line!
- The Poro King absorbs all Poros within his range being thrown by the enemy team, making him a powerful pushing force.
- The Poro King will heal nearby allied champions every 5 seconds for health and a smaller amount of mana based on the team’s average level.
- Every 5 seconds, the Poro King will lob out Poros in an arc around him, dealing magic damage to enemies where they land.
End of a mode[]
| “ | "Say farewell to your friends, for Snowdown has passed.
The Legend of the Poro King conquered at last. We won some, we lost some, we tossed many poros. Some landed and some missed, that is just how it goes. Who really won this Snowdown? Only the poros know. Every single game, a unique Snowdown surprise. The year may be over, but only Amumu cries-- Even if it's over, we learned one thing at the end: Snowdown gathers strangers, but we all leave as friends." |
|
Trivia[]
- Snowdown Showdown event skins were also released along side Sugar Rush and Toy Box themed skins, however these themes has since deviated from the Snowdown Showdown theme into their own separate thematics.
- In 2019, all traditional Snowdown skins were replaced with Sugar Rush skins. This is due to the Pre-season Summoner's Rift Elements map changes, as well as the traditional Snowdown skins not being as popular as Riot Games hoped it would be. However, Legend of the Poro King returned as a seasonal Featured game mode.[1][2]
Gallery[]
Music[]
On top of all the new gleeful features, every year summoners are met with a new animated login screen. They usually showcase one or more of the year's new Snowdown skins and are backed with music fit for the holiday to set up the mood as everyone enters the game.
| Snowdown Showdown 2010 Login Music |
| Snowdown Showdown 2011 and 2013 Login Music |
| Snowdown Showdown 2012 Login Music |
| Snowdown Showdown 2014 Login Music |
| Snowdown Showdown 2015 Login Music |
| Snowdown Showdown 2016 Login Music |
| Champion Selection |
Login Screens[]
Videos[]
See also[]
References
| Matchmade PVP |
|
|---|---|
| Custom | |
| Co-op vs. AI |
|
| Training |
|
| Rotating Game Modes |
|
| Draft types | |
| Retired / Cancelled |
|
