After T1’s win over Bilibili Gaming and Gen.G’s victory against Anyone’s Legend, the Upper Bracket Final is fully stacked with LCK teams. This guarantees that a South Korean team will reach the MSI Grand Final, which in turn secures a fourth seed for the LCK at Worlds, starting in the Play-In Stage. Indeed, the winner of the MSI will earn a direct qualification for the World Championship — provided they qualify for the Summer playoffs in their domestic league — and the second-best region at MSI will also be granted a fourth seed.

With a guaranteed spot in the grand final, the LCK is assured of being at least the second-best region. As a reminder, the Play-In Stage will consist of a single best-of-five between the fourth seeds of the two regions that performed best at the Mid-Season Invitational.

The next matches will take place in the Lower Bracket, with Anyone’s Legend facing CTBC Flying Oyster on July 7, followed by Bilibili Gaming vs. FlyQuest on July 8 — both scheduled for 5 PM PST. If both LPL teams win, China will also secure a fourth seed at Worlds, which will be held on home soil in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu. Meanwhile, in the Upper Bracket, the two LCK representatives will clash on July 9 at 5 PM PST to determine who advances directly to the Grand Final.

A new format for the Play-In Stage

While the Play-In Stage at Worlds was traditionally a full phase involving multiple best-of series between third seeds from major regions and top seeds from minor regions, the 2025 format is entirely different. The Play-In will now consist of a single best-of-five, played between two top-tier teams. As a result, 17 teams will qualify for Worlds, with 15 of them going straight into the Main Stage — meaning one team will have to travel to Beijing for a single best-of-five.

Last year at Worlds, the format heavily benefited both the LCK and the LPL. As MSI 2024 champion and finalist, respectively Gen.G and Bilibili Gaming, secured a fourth seed for their regions — a huge advantage that later paid off for Weibo Gaming, as well as for T1, who narrowly qualified over KT Rolster in the Regional Finals as the LCK’s fourth seed. The rest is history: T1 went on to claim their fifth World Championship title — and their second in a row — an achievement that technically wouldn’t have been possible if Gen.G hadn’t reached the MSI final.