2025 League of Legends World Championship final

A Historic Final in a New Era

The 2025 final was a landmark event in League of Legends esports. It was the first World Championship final played under Riot Games' new three-split competitive calendar introduced that year. The series also debuted the Fearless Draft format at this stage, a system implemented after overwhelming positive feedback during the season's first split and the 2025 First Stand Tournament. Hosted at the 18,000-seat Dong'an Lake Sports Park Multifunctional Gymnasium, it was the first China-hosted Worlds final held in an indoor arena. The previous finals in China, in 2017 at the Beijing National Stadium and 2020 at the Pudong Football Stadium, were held in large outdoor stadiums.

For T1, this marked a fourth consecutive finals appearance, a streak beginning with their loss in the 2022 final. For KT Rolster, it was their debut on the world championship stage. The match was an all-LCK affair, with both teams being two of the four Korean representatives at the tournament alongside Gen.G and Hanwha Life Esports. The venue itself had opened in May 2021 and previously hosted events for the 2021 Summer World University Games and the 2025 World Games.

The Telecom War Rivalry

The final was a new chapter in the historic Telecommunications Rivalry, known as the Telecom War. This rivalry originated in the StarCraft: Brood War scene, where KT Rolster was one of the most successful organizations, winning the domestic professional league three times. The rivalry is rooted in the ownership of the teams by two of South Korea's major telecom companies, KT Corporation and SK Telecom. In League of Legends, their clashes in the LCK have been frequent, with KT finishing as runners-up to SK Telecom T1 in the 2015 and 2016 Summer Split finals, as well as the 2017 Spring Split final.

This backdrop added significant narrative weight to the final, transforming it from a simple championship decider into a clash of historic organizational rivals. It was the first time this long domestic rivalry was contested on the world championship stage. Comcast Spectacor, a subsidiary of the American telecommunications company Comcast, also held a minority stake in T1, adding another layer to the telecom connection.

KT Rolster's Long Road to the Final

KT Rolster's journey to their first Worlds final was a story of long-term rebuilding. The organization joined the LCK in 2013. In their first year, they fielded two sister teams, with KT Rolster Arrows winning the 2014 Summer Split. The teams merged in 2015 due to rule changes. KT made their first Worlds appearance that year, reaching the quarterfinals. After a domestic title drought, they won the 2018 LCK Summer Split but again fell in the Worlds quarterfinals in a famous 2-3 series against Invictus Gaming that featured a dramatic base race.

From 2019 to 2022, KT struggled, missing four consecutive World Championships. Their rebuild began in earnest for the 2023 season with the re-acquisition of mid-laner Gwak 'Bdd' Bo-seong and the promotion of substitute top-laner Lee 'PerfecT' Seung-min. They returned to Worlds in 2023 after a five-year absence, but lost in the quarterfinals to JD Gaming. The 2024 season saw more roster turnover, with jungler Hong 'Pyosik' Chang-hyeon joining, but they failed to qualify for Worlds after a 2-3 loss to T1 in the regional finals.

For the 2025 season, ADC Seo 'deokdam' Dae-gil joined following Kim 'Deft' Hyuk-kyu's military service, and jungler Moon 'Cuzz' Woo-chan was re-acquired. Their LCK year was inconsistent, finishing 5th in the early rounds and losing to T1 in the Road to MSI tournament. However, a critical upset 3-2 playoff victory over Gen.G secured their Worlds spot. At the tournament itself, KT was dominant. They swept through the Swiss stage with wins over Movistar KOI, Secret Whales, and Top Esports. In the knockout stage, they delivered a 3-0 victory over CTBC Flying Oyster and a 3-1 win against Gen.G in the semifinals to reach the final.

T1's Dominant Era and 2025 Campaign

T1 entered the 2025 season as the two-time defending world champion, having won the titles in 2023 and 2024. The offseason saw a major change as top-laner Choi 'Zeus' Woo-je departed for Hanwha Life Esports. He was replaced on 19 November 2024 by Choi 'Doran' Hyeon-joon, who transferred from the same team. The team's 2025 year was competitive but marked by near misses. They qualified for the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational in Vancouver, reaching the final but losing to Gen.G, their first international final loss since 2022.

In the LCK, T1 finished the regular season with a 20-10 record across Rounds 3-5. They were eliminated from the LCK playoffs by eventual champions Gen.G in a 2-3 defeat, but still qualified for Worlds. Their World Championship campaign was fraught with difficulty from the start. They lost their play-in match to Invictus Gaming 1-3. In the Swiss stage, after a win against FlyQuest, they lost two consecutive matches to CTBC Flying Oyster and Gen.G, putting them in the 1-2 bracket and on the brink of elimination.

T1 survived by winning two consecutive best-of-three series against 100 Thieves and Movistar KOI. In the quarterfinals, they faced another major test against Anyone's Legend, mounting a comeback from a 1-2 deficit to win 3-2. A commanding 3-0 sweep of Top Esports in the semifinals secured their eighth Worlds final appearance and a chance at a historic three-peat against their domestic rivals.

The Decisive Series and Lasting Legacy

The final was a tense, back-and-forth affair that went the full five games. After three games, KT Rolster held a 2-1 lead, putting T1 on the brink of defeat. T1 then mounted a comeback, winning the final two games consecutively to claim the series 3-2. This victory secured T1's sixth World Championship title, extending their record, and made them the first team in history to win three consecutive world championships.

The win also marked the LCK's fourth straight world title and sixth consecutive international trophy dating back to the 2023 World Championship. Lee 'Gumayusi' Min-hyeong was named the Finals MVP, becoming the first ADC player to win the award since Park 'Ruler' Jae-hyuk did so for Samsung Galaxy in 2017, which was also held in China. For Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok, it was a record-extending sixth world championship. For top-laner Choi 'Doran' Hyeon-joon, it was his first international title. Notably, T1 became the second consecutive fourth-seed from the LCK to win the tournament, following their own achievement from the previous year.

The result confirmed T1's era of dominance in the mid-2020s and continued the LCK's stranglehold on the international stage. For KT Rolster, the finals debut represented the top of a multi-year organizational rebuild, falling just short against the most successful team in the game's history.

Host Selection and Venue

The location for the 2025 final was announced during the media day for the 2024 World Championship Final at The O2 Arena in London on 1 November 2024. Riot Games revealed that Chengdu, which had hosted the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational, would stage the final. The specific venue, the Dong'an Lake Sports Park Multifunctional Gymnasium, was selected on 25 July 2025.

The gymnasium is part of the larger Dong'an Lake Sports Park complex. With a capacity of 18,000 people, it provided a major indoor arena for the event. Prior to hosting the Worlds final, the venue had been used for various sports during the 2021 Summer World University Games, which were rescheduled to 2023, and the 2025 World Games, establishing it as a capable host for large international competitions.