LoL - Worlds 2025: Doran vs PerfecT, the unloved who will be crowned

This Sunday marks the conclusion of the 2025 League of Legends Worlds with a historic final showcasing one of the greatest rivalries in esports history: the reigning two-time world champions T1 facing off against KT Rolster. Ahead of the most significant Telecom War ever played, Sheep Esports is publishing a daily spotlight on the upcoming matchups. This Wednesday, our series continues with a look at the toplane duel between Lee "PerfecT" Seung-min and Choi "Doran" Hyeon-jun.

An anticipated duel between two players who weren't expected at this stage of the competition. Under fire from critics on numerous occasions since their debut in the LCK, Doran and PerfecT have the opportunity to make their mark in history. One has been chasing this title for many years, the other is competing for the first time in his life, and finds himself directly in the finals.

At 21, PerfecT is competing in the first Worlds of his career when his season could have taken a completely different turn. Like his teammate, Seo "deokdam" Dae-gil, PerfecT was benched for part of the first part of the LCK Season. It should be said that since his arrival in the LCK, the young toplaner who came from KT Rolster Challengers has not really had time to shine. For his first year, he missed participating in Worlds with KT and appeared several times with a level beyond the expectations of the LCK.

This year also did not start in the best way for PerfecT. His performances were not improving and KT decided to put him in competition with Shin "Casting" Min-jae, a young toplaner from their academy who performed well last year in the LCK Challengers League. Despite this, KT weren't satisfied with their performances, and for the second part of the season, PerfecT had the starting spot all to himself.

Confined to a weak sider role, PerfecT played with limited resources on champions where he can handle his lane. As the season progressed, he caused fewer and fewer problems for his team and applied himself in a secondary role. Once at the Worlds, he revealed a level he had never reached before. As evidenced by his semi-final against Kim "Kiin" Ki-in and Gen.G, where everyone predicted his defeat and where he proved to be more than up to the task. He has the opportunity to erase all the mockery he has received over the past two years and enter the history of League of Legends with the greatest of trophies.

Even today, it's hard to believe that Doran is finally reaching the ultimate goal of his career. After multiple failures and often criticized performances at Worlds, the experienced toplaner has never been so close to touching the Summoner's Cup. It all started with a move to T1 in a context that was not the easiest. After the turn of events that led to the departure of Choi "Zeus" Woo-je, a two-time world champion with T1, Doran arrived to replace him.

Fans reacted with a lot of disappointment to this news. The player carried his reputation as a loser and choker in international events when he arrived on a team coming off back-to-back wins in the most prestigious competition. Following Zeus is not an easy thing, but Doran doesn't let it discourage him and has a full season still up to his standards from previous years. He was far from dragging T1 down, and the Korean team even reached a form they hadn't achieved in previous years before Worlds.

However, when he reached the final stretch of Worlds against the toughest dopponents, he was often criticized for not stepping up enough. He failed to lead T1 to victory against Gen.G in the LCK nor in the MSI finals. The shadow of Zeus and his level in the final phase with T1 still looms over Doran as he drags his poor performances from Worlds behind him. With a win, he could erase all the bad memories of his last few years and finally go down in the game's history alongside one of the most prestigious teams.