Which teams will make it to League of Legends Worlds 2025?

The League of Legends World Championship is the pinnacle of each LoL esports season. Featuring the 17 best teams at the end of a long, competitive season, Worlds will not only have the new Fearless Draft format come into play, but also a whopping $5 million prize pool, the highest it has ever been in LoL esports history. 

With so much on the line, we’ll dive into each region — LCK, LPL, LEC, LTA, and LCP — highlighting the teams that have shown stronger performances and are well-positioned to fly to China for the season-end tournament.

The League of Legends World Championship 2025 will be split into three stages. From October 14 to October 25, the tournament will have the Play-in and Swiss stages take place in Beijing. The top eight teams will then move to Shanghai for the quarter-finals and semi-finals, before the two finalists will square off at the Dong’an Lake Sports Park Gymnasium in Chengdu.

Worlds 2025 will be the 15th edition, a special milestone for the esports scene. Unlike previous years, Riot Games has announced that the Worlds 2025 anthem will be “honoring and celebrating prolific players across League of Legends’ competitive history”, according to their latest dev update. Even though the teams are reduced from 20 to 17 this year, the format will be the same, with the exception of Fearless Draft implemented across the entire competition. 

Likely qualifiers: T1, Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, KT Rolster/Dplus KIA

Over the past few years, the LCK has been quite top-heavy, with the same top teams dominating the domestic league. This year is no exception, with T1, Gen.G, and Hanwha Life Esports consistently locking out the top three across the entire season. All three teams are expected to be the top three LCK seeds and head directly to the Swiss Stage.

The last seed, on the other hand, is slightly more uncertain. KT Rolster has arguably been the best of the rest, led by their mid laner Gwak “Bdd” Bo-sung once again. That said, Dplus KIA also has the potential to make the upset happen, especially if the players can regain some form. Regardless of who qualifies, however, the LCK #4 seed will have to face the LPL’s #4 seed, and the matchup will be tough. 

Likely qualifiers: BiliBili Gaming (BLG), Top Esports (TES), Invictus Gaming (IG), Anyone’s Legend/JD Gaming/Weibo Gaming

Nailing the predictions in the LPL is almost as hard as winning with a 7-2 offsuit in poker. The main reason is that there are so many competitive teams with potential, and momentum can easily swing based on how players perform on the day. 

The two teams with higher chances of making it to Worlds based on current form are BLG and TES. The latter is known for having great domestic results, while BLG has been on the rise following the swap in the jungle and the arrival of Zhao ‘shad0w’ Zhiqiang.

IG is also another team that has been improving consistently over the course of the season. Jungler Yan “Wei” Yang-Wei has shown great synergy with the rest of the team, and they might have everything they need now to pull off the final playoff run.

The last seed for Worlds will be much trickier, with both Anyone’s Legend (AL), Weibo Gaming, and JD Gaming all having decent chances. Among the three, the slightly favoured is AL: they were the most consistent team in the previous splits, and they are led by one of the best coaches in the world, Wong “Tabe” Pak Kan. 

Likely qualifiers: Karmine Corp, Movistar KOI, G2 Esports/Fnatic

The LEC has also been dominated by the “fantastic four” this season. On paper, it should’ve been just three teams, but the recent arrival of former T1 Academy player Poby on Fnatic has seemingly re-ignited the hopes for the London-based organisation.

Karmine Corp and Movistar KOI were the two most consistent teams in the league, which have also shown the highest peaks. G2 Esports hasn’t been as dominant as in previous years, but they are still expected to be part of the equation. With only three slots on the line, one will be left with nothing but regrets.

Likely qualifiers: FlyQuest, Cloud9, RED Canids/paiN Gaming/FURIA

The LTA North has proven to be more competitive than their Southern counterparts, but with how the LTA Regional Championship format works, one LTA South team is guaranteed to make it to Worlds. 

This is because the first-place team from the LTA South Split 3 will be placed in the upper bracket, meaning that they will finish at worst in third place, and therefore qualify as the LTA #3 seed. Currently, that spot is expected to be contested among RED Canids, paiN Gaming, and FURIA, who have recently played at MSI and the Esports World Cup.

For the LTA North teams, the undisputed best teams in the league are currently FlyQuest and Cloud9 (C9). The former is the strongest squad from the North American scene in recent times, and C9 is also looking in good form domestically. If an upset happens, it will likely be between the two teams below them, Shopify Rebellion and Team Liquid. 

Likely qualifiers: CTBC Flying Oyster (CFO), GAM Esports (GAM), Team Secret Whales/PSG Talon

CFO continues its dominant run in the LCP and has solid chances of becoming the first team ever to appear at all global events in a year since the implementation of the three-tournament structure (First Stand, MSI, and Worlds). 

Behind them, expect a feisty competition between GAM Esports, Team Secret Whales, and PSG Talon. Based on current form, the two Vietnamese teams might have stronger chances of qualifying, with GAM set to be the no. 2 team from the LCP once again (they were the second seed at MSI and EWC). Team Secret Whales has been the surprise of the split so far, having beaten GAM in the group phase of the LCP Season Finals. Regardless of what happens next, these should be the teams fighting for the ticket to China.

With League of Legends viewership steadily increasing for global events, Worlds 2025 is set to be another record-breaking tournament. With 17 teams fighting in the Fearless Draft format and a hefty $5m prize pool, it’s the golden chance for teams to showcase their worth.

The Eastern regions are expected to send the same squads that have participated in previous international tournaments of the season, with a few dark horses lurking and ready to steal the spotlight.

For the Western regions, instead, the limited number of three seeds means that at least one of the stronger teams will be left at home, and will put an early end to their 2025 campaign.