LoL - Worlds 2025: G2-BLG, a Swiss Stage classic

The third round of Worlds 2025 is ramping up, and Saturday’s matches bring together eight teams sitting at 1-1 records, battling each other in best-of-one. Among the four matchups, G2 Esports against Bilibili Gaming stands out as these two teams are meeting at Worlds for the third consecutive year in the Swiss Stage, their rivalry gaining new depth with every encounter.

G2 and BLG have a history of big games, but BLG usually comes out on top. Out of five past series between them, BLG has won four times, including a clear victory at MSI 2025. This time, both teams have changed and improved, and they want to avoid a tough 1-2 record. Saturday’s match is not an elimination game, but it’s still an important mental test for both teams.

Head-to-head statistics don’t favor G2: out of five historical series played against BLG, they’ve only managed to win once. Excluding EWC 2025, G2 have never bested BLG in an international series:

Their most recent meeting, during the MSI 2025 Play-In, ended in a one-sided 3-0 win for BLG. G2 came close in the first game but couldn’t close it before BLG turned the series into a showcase of dominance. Yang “Beichuan” Ling and Zhuo "Knight" Ding led the charge with relentless early-game aggression and immaculate midlane coordination that left little room for G2 to respond.

This time, though, the story feels different. BLG arrive as newly crowned LPL champions but had to adapt through major roster adjustments. Zhao “Shad0w” Zhi-Qiang joined during the Summer Split to share jungle duties with Beichuan, forming a flexible six-man roster. His addition brought much-needed stability to a team that had struggled with inconsistency earlier in the year. However, their Worlds campaign started on a sour note, as they were upset by LTA’s third seed, 100 Thieves, in their opening match.

On the other hand, G2 Esports come in as LEC champions riding a strong domestic finish. The roster found its rhythm late in the season and displayed some of Europe’s best team play this year. Still, their start at Worlds was rocky: a heavy defeat to Top Esports in Round 1 followed by a strong bounce-back win against Movistar KOI in Round 2. Saturday’s duel will be a true test of whether this new G2 lineup can finally rise to the occasion on the international stage.

Unlike their previous Worlds meetings, this encounter doesn’t carry the weight of immediate elimination or qualification. Both sides have breathing room on paper—but that doesn’t make it any less intense. The best-of-one format leaves no margin for error, where one bad fight can decide everything. As G2’s Labros “Labrov” Papoutsakis told Sheep Esports: “BLG also lost, you know? It doesn’t mean they’re sh*t, for example. It’s also just the BO1 format.”

When the dust settles, one of these two rivals will slip to a 1-2 record, dangerously close to elimination. For G2, this is a chance at long-awaited redemption to finally getting closer to a first qualification to quarters since 2020. For BLG, it’s another opportunity to assert their dominance over Europe’s finest once again.