League of Legends at Esports World Cup 2025: Survival Guide

Jul 15, 2025.

The second week of the Esports World Cup is headlined by League of Legends. Twelve of the world’s best teams will battle it out on the Rift to try to dethrone title defenders T1 and go home with the biggest share of the $2,000,000 prize pool.


A revitalized tournament format

This rendition of League of Legends at EWC 25 will look nothing like last year's debut. This time, more teams will attend, with lower seeds having to play in a qualification group stage before fighting for the title in the single-elimination bracket.

There is also a brand-new tactical element with the Fearless Draft. With teams unable to play the same champion multiple times, this promises more creative and exciting team compositions in the best-of series come bracket stage.


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T1 aiming to earn back-to-back titles

Not everything will be new, though, with 2024 winners T1 returning to defend their title. Having made it to the final of the Mid-Season Invitational only days ago, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and his teammates return to Riyadh in form.

After barely missing out on the MSI title, the reigning Esports World Cup titleholders will be set on rising above the competition again and taking home another EWC trophy.


Three Korean powerhouses

T1 will be facing some tough competition as they defend their 2024 title, most notably from fellow top-tier Korean team Gen.G, who have been unstoppable so far in 2025. They boast a 23-0 record this year, including an MSI final win over T1 last weekend, and are definitely a force to be reckoned with at EWC.

As if two Korean powerhouses attending isn’t enough, the LCK will send a third contender to this year’s tournament thanks to T1’s win last year: Hanwha Life Esports. While HLE doesn’t have the international track record of its compatriots, the team won the inaugural First Stand tournament earlier this year and is currently ranked fourth in the world in the official League of Legends power rankings. They’re definitely a force to be reckoned with.


Challengers and underdogs

Fans hoping for a non-Korean winner this year will likely be cheering for Anyone’s Legend. The LPL team, competing under the AG.AL banner in collaboration with fellow Chinese organization All Gamers for the EWC, is considered the third-strongest team in the world. They narrowly lost to T1 in a five-game thriller during the lower-bracket final at the Mid-Season Invitational and will be looking to bring the title home to China this time around.

For this year's underdog story, eyes should be on CTBC Flying Oyster and FlyQuest. Both teams are coming off surprisingly strong MSI performances and will be looking to start another upset run this week. They will be joined on their quest to topple the favorites by Bilibili Gaming, Cloud9, G2 Esports, FURIA, KOI, and GAM Esports.


Club Championship

Gen.G has already posted strong results during the first week of EWC, finishing third in VALORANT and fourth in Apex Legends. With its League of Legends roster looking basically unbeatable, the organization will aim to solidify its standing in the Club Championship with another big showing in League of Legends at EWC 25.

AG.AL is another major contender in the race, set to compete in three of the four Esports World Cup championship events this week as it looks to make a serious push up the leaderboard.

Tune into League of Legends at EWC 25 as the action kicks off on Wednesday, July 16th at the stc Esports Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Make sure to catch the finals to see who lifts the EWC 25 trophy on July 20th.


With hundreds of matches set to take place over the next few days, new legends will rise as champions are crowned and rivals are toppled. Watch the Esports World Cup 2025 live or check out the ticket options to watch in-person this week!