Once again, the race to qualify for Worlds 2025 has been intense. And once again, many notable names have been left on the sidelines, sometimes narrowly missing the chance to compete in the most prestigious League of Legends tournament. Sheep Esports has chosen to spotlight a few of the most missed players this year, each representing one of the five major regions, whether because of their deep connection to the tournament or their expected strong contention this season. Here is the 5-man roster imagined, featuring players who could have made a significant impact at Worlds this year.

Canna (Karmine Corp)

Kim "Canna" Chang-dong, once renowned as a good LCK toplaner, made headlines with his transfer to Karmine Corp in Europe bach in Summer 2024—a historic move symbolizing the increased exchange between top Asian and European organizations. Throughout the season, Canna’s individual performance remained unmatched, earning him recognition not only as the best toplaner in the LEC this year but arguably the best player across all roles.

However, despite helping the organization lift its first-ever LEC trophy in Winter, Karmine Corp ultimately fell short in their Worlds qualification, with Canna missing the mark in the crucial matchup against Fnatic and Óscar "Oscarinin" Muñoz in Summer Finals. As a result, he will miss his third appearance at the most prestigious tournament of the year, after previously reaching the semifinals with T1 in 2021 and enduring an early exit in the Swiss Stage in 2023 with Dplus KIA.

Levi (GAM Esports)

Đỗ "Levi" Duy Khánh stands as the proud icon of Vietnam and GAM Esports in the LCP. After over six years of loyal service with the organization, Levi is not only the emblem of his team but a representative of his entire region on the international stage. With five Worlds and three MSI appearances since 2017, Levi has been a constant presence at the highest level. Yet this year, GAM fell short after a harsh playoff run, losing 2-0 to PSG Talon and then 3-0 to Team Secret Whales, ultimately missing out on Worlds.

Levi’s impact extends beyond gameplay and stands as a symbol of Vietnamese pride internationally. Fortunately, this isn’t the end of his season: Levi is set to represent his team and league at the ASI Invitational, where he’ll challenge other top squads from the LCK and LPL, which also missed Worlds.

ShowMaker (Dplus KIA)

For the first time since his career began in the LCK in 2019, Worlds will take place without the immensely talented Heo "ShowMaker" Su. Champion in 2020 with one of the most dominant rosters in history and a finalist in 2021 against EDward Gaming, ShowMaker now faces an unusual end to his season. While he will participate in the ASI Invitational with Dplus KIA, his absence from Worlds is a major talking point.

Known for his vibrant personality and boasting three LCK titles, ShowMaker misses out on what would have been his seventh consecutive Worlds appearance, bested by an intensely competitive field in Korea this year. Dplus finished fifth in the playoffs, with the bracket drawing them against T1—reigning back-to-back World Champions—both in the winner and loser bracket. Fate seemed determined to keep ShowMaker from qualifying, and he may look back with regret on the pivotal Game 5 Tryndamere pick against T1 in their first series—perhaps the entire playoffs scenario shifted on that moment.

Peyz (JD Gaming)

Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan, now competing for JD Gaming, has quickly risen as one of the LPL’s most promising AD carries. Following an extraordinary rookie year with Gen.G in 2024—which included an LCK title, an MSI victory, and a Worlds semifinal—his arrival in the LPL alongside Peng "Xun" Li-Xun and Lee "Scout" Ye-chan was touted as the making of a new Chinese superteam. Despite a promising start, JDG’s momentum faltered, with the squad frequently crushed by the league’s giants.

Peyz narrowly missed out on only his second appearance at Worlds, falling just one series short against Invictus Gaming in the LPL regional finals. In a fitting twist, his remarkable mechanical talent was denied by the veteran power of Invictus Gaming’s legendary roster—Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok and Song "Rookie" Eui-jin—proving destiny favored their reunion on the World stage against Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok in Play-In.

CoreJJ (Team Liquid)

At 31, Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in’s name is familiar to every longtime esports fan. With eight Worlds appearances in a 12-year career, he sits on the podium for the most appearances in tournament history, matching the legendary Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu. A world champion in 2017, a finalist in 2016 (alongside Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk) with Samsung Galaxy, CoreJJ is a true icon of international League of Legends. Since joining Team Liquid in North America in 2019, he’s served as the team’s star support and backbone, playing in five of Liquid’s six Worlds runs.

2025, however, will see him miss out. Despite winning Split 1 and leading the team to First Stand, Liquid collapsed in the latter part of the year. Harsh results and an unforgiving format saw them overtaken by LYON, Cloud9, 100 Thieves, and the hegemonic FlyQuest.