Xerath is a playable mage champion in League of Legends, Riot Games' team-based battle arena game, where champions use short voice lines for taunts, jokes and laughs during matches. His laugh comes from that in-game voice set and, like other champion lines, was clipped and shared by players for use outside matches. It spread through gameplay montages, reaction edits and soundboards, where its cold, villainous tone made it an easy shorthand for arrogance and inevitable victory. It remains popular because it instantly signals a powerful antagonist enjoying an opponent's failure.