LoL - Worlds 2025: AL-T1, slaying everyone's legends

T1 and Anyone’s Legend will face off next Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2025 World Championship. Both teams have had completely opposite runs in the tournament, yet the stakes couldn’t be higher. For AL, it’s about proving themselves on the international stage despite their lack of experience, while for the reigning back-to-back world champions, it’s another step toward a historic sixth title.

The series is expected to be one of the closest of the quarterfinals. Earlier, Gen.G took down Hanwha Life Esports 3-1, while KT Rolster clean-swept CTBC Flying Oyster to set up a semifinal clash against Gen.G. On the other side of the bracket, the winner between T1 and Anyone’s Legend will face either G2 Esports or Top Esports.

Indeed, the two teams couldn’t have had more different paths. Anyone’s Legend flawlessly executed their Swiss Stage — and it wasn’t an easy one: a first win over HLE, a second against Gen.G, then a final BO3 victory versus CFO. A perfect run, but one that could be deceptive, as passing in 3-0 isn’t always ideal — they haven’t played since October 17.
On the other hand, T1 had a rougher road. They opened with a win over FlyQuest but quickly dropped to 1-2 after losses to CFO and Gen.G. Still, they managed to bounce back with wins against 100 Thieves and Movistar KOI. T1 have yet to win a best-of against an Asian team this tournament.

How could T1 not be considered the favorite in a Worlds elimination best-of-five? Combined, T1’s five players have appeared at the League of Legends World Championship 26 times, compared to only seven for Anyone’s Legend. Their most recent meeting did go in AL’s favor—a 2-0 win at the Esports World Cup—but that holds less weight than T1’s 3-2 victory in the Lower Bracket Final of the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational in Vancouver.

The matchup between these two teams will be fascinating to watch—potentially the best quarterfinal of the tournament given how close their levels seem to be. On top of that, the mental edge could play a major role. The stat is simple: T1 has never lost a best-of-five against an LPL team at Worlds. They came close to dropping that record in the 2024 final against Bilibili Gaming, but ultimately pulled through with a 3-2 victory.

The standout players on both sides are the junglers. For T1, Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun has been the heart and soul of the team throughout the year and at Worlds—he’s everywhere, setting the pace for the reigning two-time world champions. The exact same could be said for the other Korean jungler in this matchup, Lee "Tarzan" Seung-yong. In the LPL, at MSI, and now at Worlds, the game runs through him, and AL relies on him whenever things get rough.

This best-of-five will also be a clash of two distinct metas, as both teams often differ in their drafts, playstyles, and overall approach to the game. Back at the 2025 MSI, in game five of their series, AL opted for an Olaf jungle, with Cui "Shanks" Xiao-Jun on Twisted Fate and Wang "Hope" Jie on Ziggs. On the other side, T1 went for something entirely different—Oner on Skarner, enabling Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong to thrive on Jinx. Oner finished with a flawless 7/0/14, while Gumayusi went 15/0/12 in a perfectly executed game that left AL helpless against T1’s clinical, mistake-free play.