Victories by Gen.G and T1 over LPL representatives in the upper bracket of the MSI 2025 have secured South Korea at least a second-place finish in the tournament. This automatically grants the LCK an additional slot at the World Championship — in the Play-In stage. The Worlds 2025 format allocates a fourth slot to the two best regions based on MSI results, even if they do not become champions.

The advancement of both Korean teams to the final of the upper bracket ensures that one of them will definitely play in the grand final. Thus, the LCK has already entered the top 2 regions of the tournament, fulfilling the condition for obtaining a fourth representative.

Updated Play-In Format for Worlds 2025

In 2025, the Play-In Stage format at Worlds will change: instead of several best-of series between third seeds from major regions and top seeds from smaller leagues, there will be only one best-of-5 match between the two strongest teams. Thus, 17 teams will qualify for the 2025 World Championship, with 15 starting from the Main Stage, and one team will play the final best-of-5 series in Beijing.

The next MSI matches will take place in the lower bracket: Anyone’s Legend will face CTBC Flying Oyster, and Bilibili Gaming will meet FlyQuest. If both Chinese teams secure victories, the LPL can also guarantee itself a fourth spot at Worlds, which this year will be hosted in China — in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu.