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T1 make history again: The top 10 moments of Worlds 2025
Shock knockouts, all-time great plays and thrilling upsets abound at the 15th League of Legends World Championship. Here are the unforgettable moments that made the tournament.
A jaw-dropping 6.7m viewers tuned into the League of Legends World Championship 2025 final to see if T1 could hold their title, making it the second most-viewed esports event in history. League of Legends’ dominance remains undefeated, as the tournament showed us why no other esports come close to matching the thrill of Summoner’s Rift.
The number is even more incredible when considering that it doesn’t include the streaming numbers of the country it was held in – China. Despite being held in Chengdu, the competition came down to a clash between South Korean juggernauts – the mighty reigning champions T1 and long-time rivals KT Rolster.
A sixth Summoner's Cup for T1 at Worlds 2025
© Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
What follows are the 10 moments that defined this historic competition, including narrow victories, new format mechanics and unbelievable plays.
01
Chengdu meets Worlds
Worlds 2025 marked a long-awaited return to China, with fans this time descending upon the Sichuan capital, Chengdu. The Dong’an Lake Sports Park Gymnasium set a magical atmosphere for all in attendance, marking the first time a Worlds Final had taken place at a Chinese arena.
The colossal venue, which accommodates around 18,000 spectators, was packed with fans supporting their favourite players and cosplaying their top champions. When viewing the scale of the event, it's impossible to deny the entertainment behemoth League of Legends has become.
02
Viewership continues to climb
The atmosphere was electric throughout the tournament
© Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
Although overall viewing figures fell just slightly short of 2024’s record-breaking numbers, watchers for teams other than T1 actually rose this year. KT Rolster and Gen.G’s semi-final clash peaked at an eye-watering 3.1m viewers, signalling that the audience for LoL esports is growing beyond the household name of T1.
The grand final itself set the internet ablaze, drawing in over 6.7m viewers. Viewership also saw huge gains in Korea, with over 2m viewers tuning in at peak times.
03
‘Fearless Draft’ shakes up picks
This was the first Worlds to adopt the Fearless Draft format
© Christina Oh/Riot Games
Worlds 2025 introduced a major mechanical switch-up: the introduction of ‘Fearless Draft’. In previous years, Worlds operated with the draft system that had become standard across all LoL leagues. This meant that champions could be picked repeatedly, so it was the norm to see teams stick with a single ‘one-trick’ composition that worked for them.
With ‘Fearless Draft’, players can only use a champion for one game in a series. For instance, if a player picked Azir in the first match of a best-of-three, they wouldn’t be able to play him again for the remaining rounds. This led to some wild and unexpected picks – especially when best-of-five matches began in the quarter-finals.
04
CTBC Flying Oyster hand T1 unexpected defeat
CTBC Flying Oyster were the first Pacific team to make the QFs since 2015
© Yicun Liu/Riot Games
Everyone loves an underdog story, and this is one for the history books. Relatively unknown coming into the tournament, CTBC Flying Oyster would create one of the tournament’s most shocking upsets when they defeated T1 in the Swiss Stage. The standout performance was Chiu 'Doggo' Tzu-Chuan’s Draven, who deftly switched lanes, securing kills and gathering a formidable horde of gold. T1’s attempts to shut him down were thwarted at every turn, allowing the Flying Oysters to topple the giants and proceed to the next stage.
Unfortunately, the squad was eliminated in the quarter-finals, but with this victory, they can leave with their heads held high.
05
All-star musical guests slay the opening ceremony
There was no expense spared on the spectacular opening ceremony
© Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
One reliable highlight of any Worlds tournament is the epic opening ceremony. This year saw the heroic team-up of dance music legend Anyma, Chinese popstar G.E.M., powerhouse singer Chrissy Costanza and Austrian singer/songwriter TEYA.
It was a spectacle to rival any arena-sized pop performance, accompanied by eye-popping visuals that fused animation, stagecraft, choreography and raw talent for an unforgettable show.
06
Top best G2 in quarters
Top Esports' run ended with a 3-0 semi-final whitewash at the hands of T1
© Photo by Yicun Liu/Riot Games
After Fnatic’s exit from the tournament in the Swiss Stage, the hopes of the West rested solely on the shoulders of G2. Hopes were initially high for the European organisation, as they qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2020. While the curse initially seemed broken, China’s Top Esports would prove the biggest challenge G2 had faced thus far.
Game 1 was a wash for G2, as their opponents bullied support player Labros 'Labrov' Papoutsakis. TES continued to dominate all lanes, taking dragons and scaling far beyond G2 before they could put a plan of attack together. G2 managed to rally in Game 2, with ADC Steven 'Hans Sama' Liv putting on a masterclass. But a G2 win was not to be, as they took their feet off the gas in Game 3, allowing TES to strut into an easy win. While they showed promise at the start of Game 4, G2 was no match for TES’ brutal counters. G2 likely exited the tournament with some regrets, but a thirst for success in their domestic league.
07
Anyone’s Legend upset LCK dominance
Anyone's Legend went undefeated through the Swiss Stage
© Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
With this year’s Worlds taking place in China, it was only right that some home-grown heroes make an impression. The biggest impact was arguably delivered by rising LPL stars, Anyone’s Legend. True to their name, Anyone’s Legend delivered a major upset, defeating LCK juggernauts Gen.G in the Swiss Stage.
Bot-laner Wang 'Hope' Jie emerged as a player to watch, maintaining a high KDA, and forming the backbone of the squad’s tight teamplay. Through their determined efforts, the team managed to make it to the playoffs for the first time in their history. Although they were eventually knocked out by T1, they managed to take two wins in their five-game series, which is an enormous achievement in and of itself.
08
KT Rolster’s first finals
KT Rolster ensured the final was competitive and exciting
© Photo by Yicun Liu/Riot Games
KT Rolster wouldn’t have been on many bingo cards to make it to the final, but the LCK mainstays defied the odds to make it to the biggest stage in esports through grit, determination and some creative drafting. The ‘Fearless Draft’ system worked wonders for the South Korean squad, who never failed to lob up some thoughtful counter picks for the opponents throughout the tournament.
The driving force of KT’s success was mid-laner Gwak 'Bdd' Bo-seong, who controlled lanes with ease and was instrumental in the team’s stunning victory over Gen.G. We would be remiss not to also mention jungler Hong 'Pyosik' Chang-hyeon, whose unorthodox picks baffled many an opponent and formed a reliable centre for the squad to rally around.
09
Gumayusi scores MVP title
T1's Gumayusi takes a selfie with his MVP trophy
© Yicun Liu/Riot Games
While Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok is the biggest star in T1 (heck, probably the biggest star in all of esports), the coveted honour of MVP went to another player – Lee 'Gumayusi' Min-hyeong. It was an epic comeback for the ADC, who was benched earlier in the LCK season.
Faker with the Summoner's Cup for the third year in a row
© Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
Gumayusi was instrumental in T1’s success this year, and shone brightly in the grand final. The ADC was indispensable in both teamfights and taking neutral objectives, displaying an almost superhuman sense of positioning throughout the series. It’s also fair to say he hard-carried in the fifth round, playing a key role in that tournament-deciding round. This incredible performance was the best redemption a player could hope for.
10
T1 secures first threepeat Worlds victory
Jokingly dubbed by fans as the ‘Telecom War’ due to the sponsors of both South Korean teams, the final battle came down to a clash between two LCK titans – reigning champions T1 and KT Rolster. Under the leadership of the ‘Unkillable Demon King’ Faker, T1 have graduated from being the most well-known esports team in the world to being legends in the annals of all sports. Their dominance in recent years has put them at an almost untouchable level.
T1 celebrate another Worlds win
© Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
KT Rolster, on the other hand, have steadily been gaining momentum in their domestic league, but in recent years they have fallen short of the top four. This made for an irresistible David vs Goliath final. T1 initially appeared dominant, taking a pair of crucial teamfights that allowed them to secure the game. The tension was turned up to 11, though, when the game was pushed into a fourth round as KT stole games 2 and 3, thanks in no small part to epic performances from bdd and Moon 'Cuzz' Woo-chan.
But T1 rallied in Game 4, with Mun 'Oner' Hyeon-jun’s deadly smites tipping the scales in T1’s favour, allowing them to steamroll the rest of the game. As more than 6.7m fans watched on, the reigning champs entered into an intense back-and-forth with their rivals that was close up until the very last minutes. The victory saw Faker and co make history once again, as the first team to win three consecutive Worlds finals.
