After T1’s loss to Gen.G on Sunday, September 21, and Invictus Gaming’s victory over JD Gaming on Saturday, September 27, both teams are officially the fourth seeds from South Korea and China at Worlds 2025, which will be held in the Middle Kingdom from October 14 to November 9. The two teams will face off in a BO5 in the single match of this phase to determine who advances to the main stage.

The two organizations, legendary both locally and internationally, have met only twice, in their history, both times in BO1s during the group stage of the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational in Hanoi, Vietnam. The first game lasted just 16 minutes, enough for IG to stomp their opponents, who at the time were known as SKT T1.

At that time, Song "Rookie" Eui-jin was already on IG, as was Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok on SKT T1. On IG’s side, Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok was still in the top lane, and Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong, who was SKT T1’s support back then, is now the coach for the same team. The second best-of-one was won by the LCK champions after 32 minutes of play, tying the head-to-head—though that won’t last for long.

A controversial format

While the other major leagues (LEC, LTA, and LCP) only have three seeds each, the LPL and LCK enjoy the luxury of a fourth, thanks to their strong performances at MSI 2025. Gen.G’s victory earned Korea the title of the tournament’s best-performing region, with the LPL coming in second after Anyone’s Legend reached the lower bracket final before falling to T1. That is why both leagues were awarded a fourth seed to be decided through the Play-In.

Still, the value of this advantage is contested. Some argue it feels minor, since the LCK, which won both international tournaments this year (Hanwha Life Esports at the First Stand and Gen.G at MSI), could very well end up with the same number of main event slots as the LEC or the LCP.

Others simply point to the level gap: although Worlds are meant to be international and represent all major leagues, the reality is that there is a huge gulf between the Chinese and Korean giants and the rest of the world. No team outside those two regions has won an international trophy since 2013, with G2 Esports' MSI 2019 title standing as the only exception. The rest has been a pure duopoly.

Regardless, the two teams will face off on Tuesday, October 14 at 10 AM CET, in a BO of massive importance: either the reigning double world champions could miss the main stage, or China could lose its most-followed team. The Worlds main event will kick off the very next day, October 15, with the Swiss Stage and its eight BO1s. Sixteen teams will battle until only eight remain for the quarterfinals, four for the semifinals, two for the final, and ultimately the crowning of the king of League of Legends for 2025.