The groups and schedule for the Asia Invitational were unveiled this Tuesday, along with the official list of participants. Representing the LCK will be Dplus KIA, Nongshim RedForce, and BNK FearX; from the LPL, JD Gaming, Weibo Gaming, and Ninjas in Pyjamas; and finally, GAM Esports and MGN Vikings Esports from the LCP. The tournament will run from October 6 to 12, bringing together the best teams from these three leagues that narrowly missed out on qualifying for Worlds 2025.

The competition will be played just before Worlds, giving these eight teams the chance to extend their season until mid-October. The groups are as follows: Group A features JD Gaming, Dplus KIA, Weibo, and GAM, while Group B consists of Nongshim RedForce, BNK FearX, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and the Vikings.

The format is a single round robin within each group, with all matches played as best-of-threes. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Knockout Stage, a double-elimination bracket also in best-of-three, leading up to a best-of-five Grand Final.

World class teams

These eight teams may have missed out on Worlds, but the quality of their rosters easily could have earned them a spot. In the LCK, the battle for the top four was brutal. KT Rolster secured their ticket by defeating Gen.G, while T1 were swept clean by Hanwha Life Esports and dropped to the lower bracket against Dplus KIA.

That tight series ended the hopes of a promising lineup, highlighted by the topside trio of Jeon "Siwoo" Si-woo, Choi "Lucid" Yong-hyeok, and Heo "ShowMaker" Su—who, despite the inconsistencies, remain players worthy of the Worlds stage. In the LPL, both JD Gaming and Weibo Gaming fell just short as well, losing in the Regional Finals to Top Esports and Invictus Gaming.

Team Selection

The participating teams were selected based on their Summer Split seeding. In the LCK, the two squads eliminated in the playoffs—Dplus KIA and BNK FearX—were joined by Nongshim RedForce, who fell in the Lower Bracket Final of the Play-In. In the LCP, there was uncertainty regarding GAM Esports’ participation, but they will indeed compete alongside Vikings Esports, who will first have to play in the LCP Promotion Tournament before the Asia Invitational.

As for the LPL, the two losers of the Regional Finals—JD Gaming and Weibo Gaming—claimed their spots, while the final slot came down to Ninjas in Pyjamas and EDward Gaming. Championship Points ultimately decided the tie, sending NIP to the Asia Invitational.