The final of the "League of Legends (LoL)" esports showpiece, the "2025 World Championship (Worlds)," will be held on the 9th in Chengdu, China. With two teams from the LCK (Korea league), T1 and kt Rolster, facing off, a fourth straight title for Korea is already guaranteed. But with T1 on the verge of "completing a dynasty" and KT seeking a "first championship" in the 13 years since its founding, this final is being hailed as more than a simple "civil war" — it is a telecom derby that will go down in esports history.
According to major overseas betting firms on the 8th, as of the 7th T1's title odds were 1.540 and KT's were 2.490. Converted simply, that implies a win probability of about 62% for T1 and 38% for KT. While T1's experience and cohesion are rated highly, the prevailing analysis is that "an upset is not impossible," given KT's form in reaching the final after beating Gen.G, the top title favorite.
This final will be historic in several ways. It is the first time T1 and KT have met in a Worlds final, and it is also the first time two clubs under telecom companies will compete for a championship trophy on the global esports stage. The teams meet in an official LoL final for the first time in eight years, since the 2017 LCK Spring, and KT will look for its first win in seven years by snapping a multi-game series losing streak to T1 that has continued since the 2018 LCK Spring playoffs. A 20-year rivalry dating back to the "StarCraft Proleague" era is being revived.
T1 proved its resilience under pressure again at this tournament. It barely clinched a Worlds berth as the No. 4 seed from the LCK playoffs' lower bracket, but then advanced to the final without a single elimination setback. Shaken early at 1-2 in the Swiss stage (group-style preliminary league), T1 strung together wins to grab the last ticket to the quarterfinals, then took down China's LPL powers Anyone's Legend (AL) and Top Esports (TES) in succession in the knockout stage. In particular, the 3-0 sweep over TES is cited as the match that reaffirmed T1's identity as "the strongest team in decisive moments."
T1 mid laner Lee Sang-hyeok, known as "Faker," reached the Worlds stage for the 10th time this year. If he wins, he will set an unprecedented record: his sixth career title since his 2013 debut and the first-ever three straight championships. Faker, "Oner" Moon Hyeon-jun, "Gumayusi" Lee Min-hyeong, and "Keria" Ryu Min-seok reached the final as the same four for a third straight year. The perfect coexistence of veterans and emerging talent is regarded as T1's strength.
T1's upward curve has not wavered. Even after expending energy in a full five-game set to edge AL in the quarterfinals, the team actually elevated its form in the semifinal against TES. TES sought early volatility with a Sivir-Corki pairing, but T1 completely suppressed it through Gumayusi and Keria's focused laning phase and by securing early major objectives (dragon, towers). In every crisis, the team's ballast remains Faker. Even in his 10th year on the international stage, he overwhelms opponents with lane pressure, vision control, and macro decisions, drawing reviews that "his class remains intact."
KT, by contrast, wrote this year's most dramatic narrative. This is its first final in the 13 years since its 2012 founding, and it completely broke the team's symbolic "quarterfinal curse" this year. After going 3-0 in the Swiss stage to reach the quarterfinals first, it swept Taiwan's CTBC Flying Oyster 3-0. Then, in the semifinals, it stunned Gen.G Esports, the tournament's top title favorite and the No. 1 in global power rankings, with a 3-1 win. Gen.G had been widely regarded as the world's strongest this year after claiming a treble of the LCK, MSI, and EWC.
Even after a rough early game in set 1, KT perfectly engineered mid-to-late team fights to pull off a comeback, and in sets 3 and 4 it never once ceded control. "Bdd" Gwak Bo-seong's Ryze and Azir play, combined with "Cuzz" Moon Woo-chan's objective control, overwhelmed Gen.G. KT's fight setups targeting Gen.G's sturdy compositions were evaluated as "a victory of skill, not an upset." As a result, KT has posted a set win rate of 90.9% among this tournament's participants and is being labeled "the most complete underdog."
At the center of the team is Bdd. Since debuting in 2016, without a single international title, he is turning his own words — "dreams come true someday" — into reality this year. The way he swapped initiative and carried late in the win over Gen.G became a signature scene of his career. Having said he "respects Faker," he will now face his idol on the Worlds final stage.
The key variable in the final is bot lane (the bottom attack lane). T1 scripts game flow on the back of the "Gumayusi–Keria" duo's laning advantage and objective control, while KT changes its bans and picks (champion selection and bans) every game to seek early initiative with unconventional bot lane pairings. KT's tactical flexibility, which overwhelmed the bottom fights against Gen.G with Caitlyn–Neeko and Kalista–Renata, is also a burden for T1. An esports industry official said, "It's a matchup where KT's momentum and T1's savvy collide head-on," adding, "T1 is ahead in completeness, but KT's unpredictability and ability to flip the flow are formidable, so it will not be surprising whoever wins."