Following Nongshim RedForce's victory over BNK FearX on February 2nd, the LCK Cup 2025 Group Stage has concluded. The top three teams from the Winner Group will advance directly to the Playoffs while the remaining teams — with the exception of BNK FearX, the first eliminated team — are set to duke it out in the Play-In stage.
Dplus KIA established themselves as the strongest team in the LCK Cup so far, finding a perfect 5-0 record to come out on top of the Baron group; with their results, DK have secured a bye to Round 2 of Playoffs. Heo "ShowMaker" Su was a key factor in DK's success, with his versatile and off-meta champion pool — including Sett, Zoe, Zilean, and Tryndamere — leading the way for the 2020 Worlds Champion to dominate the league alongside his teammates,
Gen.G joins Dplus as the second team to receive a bye in Playoffs. With the advent of their new Botlane duo of Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk and Joo "Duro" Min-kyu, Gen.G had a particularly rough season debut, ultimately ending groups with a 3-2 record. The reunion of Gwak "Bdd" Bo-seong and Moon "Cuzz" Woo-chan under KT Rolster led the team to barely skip the Play-In stage as the third seed, advancing to Round 1 of Playoffs.
Lee "VicLa" Dae-Kwang and his teammates under BNK FEARX end the Group Stage as the only squad eliminated from the LCK Cup. Despite looking to make a breakthrough, FEARX ultimately finished at the bottom of the Baron group with a 0-5 record. They will return after First Stand with the start of the LCK season.
The other six teams — consisting of T1, Hanwha Life Esports, DRX, Nongshim RedForce, OKSavingsBank BRION, and DN Freecs — will need to go through the Play-In stage to secure a spot in the Playoffs. The five-time world champions have managed to end at the top of the Baron group with a 4-1 standing, suffering a loss only to Dplus KIA. Sin "Smash" Geum-jae, who according to Coach Kim "kkOma" Jeong-gyun is stepping in for Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong to gather data, has been particularly impressive. However, due to being part of the losing group, T1 find themselves having to compete in the Play-ins.
Play-In Stage of the LCK Cup. Credit: LCK/Riot Games
Header Photo Credit: LCK/Riot Games
