The multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game League of Legends had a tournament at the 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 16 to 20, 2025. Twelve teams took part in this tournament – three from the LTA (Americas), two each from the LCK (Korea), LCP (Asia-Pacific), LEC (EMEA) and LPL (China), and the defending champions T1. Teams qualified based on their qualification for the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) through their placement within their regional leagues, with their seeding in the EWC tournament being determined by their performance at MSI.
It was the second League of Legends tournament at the EWC and the first under a three-year partnership between game developer Riot Games and the Esports World Cup Foundation to bring League of Legends, Valorant, and Teamfight Tactics into the event until 2027. Gen.G of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) won the tournament, defeating AG.AL of the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) 3–2 in the final.
Format In the group stage, the eight teams (the six teams that finished from 5th to 10th during the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational and the two teams did not qualify for MSI) were divided into two groups of four and will compete in a GSL-style group stage double-elimination bracket, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the playoffs. All matches in the group stage were best-of-ones.
In the playoffs, the teams that qualified through the group stage joined the top four teams from MSI 2025 to compete in an eight-team single-elimination bracket. Matches in the quarter-finals and semi-finals are best-of-three; the final will be a best-of-five. The teams that lost in the semifinals will compete in a third-place match. All playoff matches will be best-of-threes, but the final will be a best-of-five.
Qualification 2024 tournament winners T1 automatically qualified for the 2025 edition by virtue of being defending champions. The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), League of Legends Pro League (LPL), League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), and the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) will have two representatives each, all of whom are qualified teams for MSI 2025. The League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA) will have three representatives – the top two teams from the North Conference and the South Conference champions – all from Split 2.
Qualified teams RegionLeagueTeamPathMSI ResultQualified Phase South Korea LCK T1 EWC 2024 ChampionsRoad to MSI Qualification Match 2 winner2nd Playoffs Gen.G Road to MSI Qualification Match 1 winner1st Playoffs Hanwha Life Esports Road to MSI third-ranked teamDNQGroup Stage Asia-Pacific LCP CTBC Flying Oyster Mid-Season Qualifying Series finalists6th Group Stage GAM Esports 9th Group Stage EMEA LEC G2 Esports Spring Split finalists 8th Group StageMovistar KOI 7th Group Stage China LPL AG.AL Stage 2 finalists3rd PlayoffsBilibili Gaming4th Playoffs Americas LTA FlyQuest LTA North Split 2 finalists 5th Group StageCloud9 KIADNQ Group Stage FURIA LTA South Split 2 champion 10th Group Stage
Draw The results of the draw for the group stage were announced on 11 July 2025. Group A Group B Cloud9CTBC Flying OysterFlyQuestGAM EsportsFURIAHanwha Life EsportsG2 EsportsMovistar KOI
Group stage Dates: 16–17 July 2025 Eight teams were drawn into four groups of four teams each. Teams from the same region cannot be placed in the same group. Double elimination; all matches are best-of-one The eight teams consisting the teams that finished 5th-8th at MSI 2025 and the third-ranked team from the LCK and the second-ranked team from the LTA North.
Group A
Group B
Playoffs Dates: 17–20 July 2025 Matchups were determined by a draw Eight teams consisting of the top four teams from MSI 2025 and the four teams that qualified from the group stage Single elimination; matches in quarterfinals and semifinals are best-of-threes; final is best-of-five
Ranking The tournament had a total prize pool of US$2,000,000, doubled from the 2024 tournament. It was distributed as shown below. Place Team Region Prize (%) Prize (USD) 1st Gen.G LCK 30% $600,000 2nd AG.AL LPL 16% $320,000 3rd T1 LCK 11.5% $230,000 4th G2 Esports LEC 8% $160,000 5th–8th Hanwha Life Esports LCK 5.5% $110,000 Bilibili Gaming LPL Movistar KOI LEC FlyQuest LTA 9th–10th CTBC Flying Oyster LCP 3.75% $75,000 FURIA LTA 11th–12th GAM Esports LCP 2.5% $50,000 Cloud9 LTA
Notes
References
External links Esports World Cup official website