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Right at the start of episode one, when Vi, Mylo, Powder and Claggor are legging it across the rooftops, Claggor grabs a cupcake off a tray mid-heist. Looks like a throwaway gag, but that exact cupcake trap is Caitlyn's in-game ability Yordle Snap Trap, icon and all. Vi even calls Caitlyn 'Cupcake' as a nickname later in the show, so the whole thing loops back around nicely.
In episode three, while Powder's sat crying next to her drawings, you can spot a crude sketch of a pair of pink-outlined wings among the doodles of Fishbones and dynamite. That's a nod to Star Guardian Jinx, one of her flashier in-game skins, tucked into the show years before most viewers would've clocked it.
Teemo never shows up as an actual character, but he's absolutely everywhere if you look. He's on an arcade cabinet Powder plays in episode two, he's in a children's book one of Silco's men waves around to scare a kid, and by season two his signature scout helmet is basically Isha's whole look. Sevika's mechanical arm even nods to him. The little Yordle gets more screen time in references than most named cast members.
Hanging above the door in Benzo's shop is a big horned helmet that fans immediately clocked as Tryndamere's headgear from his original in-game skin. He never turns up in person, but it's a nice little wink for anyone who's spent time on Summoner's Rift.
The jungle monsters Krugs get an odd little cameo when Ekko and the other kids are seen poking at a cluster of them. Funnily enough, this exact same critter turned up in the 'Enemy' music video that dropped before Arcane even premiered, so eagle-eyed junglers spotted the reference before the show had aired a single episode.
During episode seven of season two, while Ekko is wandering through the alternate universe, there's a carnival game in the background with a spinning wheel painted with real esports team logos, including T1, Gen.G and Fnatic. Blink and you'll genuinely miss it.
When Singed visits the room set aside for his daughter, there's a ballerina statue sitting there that looks a lot like Orianna's eventual champion design. Sure enough, later in the season she shows up in a fully mechanical body, hinting Viktor may have had a hand in rebuilding her.
Swain never appears on screen in Arcane, but a black crow with three eyes is shown flying over the rubble of Piltover and later among the Noxian ships. That's the exact crow from Swain's official splash art, and most fans read it as a not-so-subtle hint that Noxus could be next for the League of Legends TV treatment.
Season two slips in a wind spirit protecting the Zaun miners who never gets named on screen, but her design and role line up with Janna, the storm-guardian champion from the game. It's the kind of blink-and-you-miss-it cameo that only really lands if you already know the lore.
There's a moment where a cloaked, mysterious mage saves a young Jayce, and the spell effect used looks suspiciously like Ryze's Realm Warp ability from the game. It's one of the more obscure references in the whole series, easy to miss unless you're specifically looking for it.
