2025 League of Legends World Championship

Background and Host Selection

China was awarded the hosting rights for the 2025 World Championship, marking its third time as host after 2017 and 2020. This edition was notable as the first since 2017 to be held in China without pandemic-related travel restrictions. The decision was officially announced in October 2024 alongside a sponsorship renewal with OPPO. China had originally been scheduled to host the 2021 event, but due to pandemic travel complications, it was moved to Reykjavík, Iceland.

The tournament was the first to be held under Riot Games' new competitive calendar and split structure. It also introduced the Fearless Draft format for all best-of-three and best-of-five series, a system where champions played in a match become unavailable for the rest of that series. This format was initially intended only for the first split but was extended to MSI and Worlds after receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Venues and Tournament Structure

The tournament journeyed across three major Chinese cities. The play-in and Swiss stages were held at the Beijing Smart Esports Center, the home venue of JD Gaming. The quarterfinals and semifinals moved to the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, a venue that had staged the 2024 Valorant Champions Tour Shanghai Masters. The grand final was staged at the Dong'an Lake Sports Park Multifunctional Gymnasium in Chengdu, a city that had previously hosted the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational.

The format began with a single best-of-five play-in match between the fourth seeds from the LCK and LPL, won by T1 over Invictus Gaming with a 3-1 scoreline. Sixteen teams then entered the Swiss stage in Beijing, where the first eight teams to secure three victories advanced to the knockout stage. In the Swiss stage, the first two rounds were best-of-one matches, with later rounds switching to best-of-three. All knockout stage matches, held in Shanghai and Chengdu, were best-of-five series, with the final starting at 15:00 CST.

Qualification and New Leagues

Seventeen teams qualified through their regional leagues and performances at the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational. The LCK and LPL, as the top two regions from MSI, each sent four teams, with three going directly to the Swiss stage and their fourth seeds contesting the final Swiss spot in the play-in. The League of Legends EMEA Championship, the League of Legends Championship of The Americas, and the newly formed League of Legends Championship Pacific each sent three teams directly to the Swiss stage.

The 2025 Worlds was a landmark for league structures. It was the first and only championship to feature the LTA, a merged Americas league combining the former LCS, CBLOL, and LLA. It was announced on 28 September 2025 that the LTA would be discontinued after the season, with the LCS and CBLOL returning in 2026. It was also the debut for the LCP, a new Asia-Pacific league formed from a merger of the PCS, VCS, LJL, and LCO.

Gen.G became the first team to qualify on 23 July by winning the 2025 MSI. Other notable qualifiers included the LCP's CTBC Flying Oyster and PSG Talon, the LEC's G2 Esports, and the LTA's FlyQuest and Vivo Keyd Stars. This was the first Worlds appearance for Anyone's Legend and Vivo Keyd Stars. It was also the final Worlds appearance for 100 Thieves, who announced their departure from the league in July.

Swiss Stage and Knockout Draw

The Swiss stage in Beijing saw intense competition from 15 to 25 October, with most matches starting at 16:00 CST. Teams were drawn against opponents with similar records after each round, with restrictions to avoid intra-regional matches in the first round and rematches in later rounds. Because T1 won the play-in, KT Rolster was placed in Tier 2 for the initial draw, while Top Esports was in Tier 3.

Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, and T1 entered the tournament as the top three teams in Riot's Global Power Rankings, with 1,627, 1,569, and 1,538 points respectively. Anyone's Legend and Bilibili Gaming rounded out the top five.

Eight teams ultimately advanced to the knockout stage in Shanghai. This group included CTBC Flying Oyster, marking the first knockout stage appearance for both the team and the new LCP league, and the first for the Asia-Pacific region since 2015. Anyone's Legend also made a knockout stage debut in their first Worlds appearance. G2 Esports returned to the knockout stage for the first time since 2020, marking the LEC's return since 2022.

The Path to the Final

The knockout stage in Shanghai was held consecutively from 28 October to 2 November without the traditional week-long break between stages. After the Swiss stage, a draw determined the quarterfinal matches. The two 3-0 Swiss stage teams were placed on opposite sides of the bracket and faced 3-2 teams, while the remaining teams were seeded randomly.

In the quarterfinals, T1 defeated G2 Esports 3-1, while KT Rolster overcame Anyone's Legend 3-2. The other matches saw Gen.G sweep Bilibili Gaming 3-0 and Hanwha Life Esports defeat CTBC Flying Oyster 3-1.

The semifinals set up a classic LCK rivalry. T1 continued their title defense by defeating Gen.G 3-1. On the other side of the bracket, KT Rolster secured their spot in the final with a 3-2 victory over Hanwha Life Esports, setting up an all-Korean championship match for the second year in a row.

The Historic Final

The grand final took place on 9 November at the Dong'an Lake Sports Park Multifunctional Gymnasium in Chengdu. In a tense five-game series, T1 defeated fellow LCK representatives KT Rolster with a 3-2 scoreline. This victory was significant for the organization.

With this win, T1 secured their record-extending sixth League of Legends World Championship title. More impressively, they became the first team in history to win three consecutive world championships. The Finals MVP award was given to T1's bot laner, Lee 'Gumayusi' Min-hyeong, who became the first ADC player to win the award since Park 'Ruler' Jae-hyuk in 2017.

The final was the culmination of a tournament that featured several historic firsts in format and league participation, all held in front of Chinese crowds without restrictions for the first time since 2017.

Marketing and Official Anthem

The official anthem for the 2025 World Championship, titled 'Sacrifice', was performed by Chinese and Hong Kong singer-songwriter G.E.M. and released on 13 October. Its launch was delayed by three days from the original 10 October date due to the removal of FlyQuest player Gabriël 'Bwipo' Rau from the music video. Bwipo's removal came after he made comments on a September livestream regarding female competitors. Riot stated his removal from the video was unrelated to a separate suspension he served during the LTA playoffs.

The anthem's music video served as a tribute for the 15th anniversary of League of Legends esports. It featured past players, personalities, and notable moments. It notably included 2011 world champion and Finals MVP Maciej 'Shushei' Ratuszniak, who had passed away in April 2025. Despite Bwipo's removal, the Americas region was still represented in the video by retired player Marcus 'Dyrus' Hill.

G.E.M. performed the anthem live during the tournament final in Chengdu on 9 November.