Cloud9 falls short of Worlds 2025 qualification after 100 Thieves loss

Cloud9 has been eliminated from the LTA North 2025 Split 3 Elimination Phase after losing 3-2 to 100 Thieves, ending its chance to qualify for the 2025 League of Legends World Championship.

The North American organisation fell in the Lower Bracket Round 3 to Shopify Rebellion despite finishing with a tie for first place with a 3-0 record in the Pick and Play Phase. 100 Thieves’ jungler Kim ‘River’ Dong-woo was named Player of the Series following the upset victory. The win keeps the soon-departing 100 Thieves’ champion prospects alive as his squad goes into Round 4 against Shopify.

“If someone told me a month ago that 100T would eliminate Cloud9 from qualifying for the LTA Playoffs I’d never have believed it,” posted caster Isaac ‘Azael’ Cummings-Bentley on X.

The best-of-five series showcased momentum swings throughout. 100 Thieves took the opening game behind River’s Vi performance, but Cloud9 responded with a dominant 23-3 victory in game two. Lee ‘Loki’ Sang-min’s Aurora went 8-0-5 as Cloud9 evened the series.

100 Thieves regained control in game three with Victor ‘FBI’ Huang‘s Aphelios putting up a 10-2-6 performance. Cloud9 forced a fifth game with another commanding win in game four, where Loki’s Sylas went 9-0-5. In the deciding match, 100 Thieves closed out the series in 30 minutes. River’s Pantheon proved instrumental with a 4-2-4 scoreline, while the team controlled key objectives throughout the game.

“This first year of the LTA has been historic from start to end. With fearless and all of its rollercoaster series, we gave it our all and came up just short. Thank you for supporting C9 Kia this year,” Cloud9 posted following the elimination.

The organisation entered 2025 with high expectations following its high-profile naming rights partnership announcement with Kia America. Cloud9 began Split One strongly, placing second after losing to 100 Thieves in an earlier meeting between the two teams.

In the Cross Conference tournament, Cloud9 finished fourth after falling 2-1 to Team Liquid in the Semi-Finals. During Split Two, the team was one of two organisations that qualified for the Esports World Cup, though it narrowly missed Mid-Season Invitational qualification to FlyQuest, which also lost to in the finals of Split 2.

With six LCS championships and 10 League of Legends Worlds appearances in its history, missing the 2025 World Championship marks a significant disappointment for one of North America’s most successful organisations.

The top teams from the LTA North will represent the region at the 2025 World Championship in China later this year.