Undefeated Gen.G. pose big threat to T1's EWC repeat quest

The second week of the 2025 Esports World Cup will feature the League of Legends tournament at Esports Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with 12 teams competing for a share of the $2 million prize pool.

T1 are seeking to successfully defend their title, but will be doing so in a new format. Lower seeds will begin play in a qualification group stage on Wednesday and Thursday before the single-elimination bracket is set. The playoffs begin Friday, with the grand final scheduled for Sunday.

Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok leads the T1 team that is coming off a run to the final at the Mid-Season Invitational. The title was won by powerhouse Gen.G., who are now 23-0 in 2025. The third big Korean threat in the tournament is Hanwha Life Esports, who won the inaugural First Stand tournament earlier this year.

The biggest challenge to the three Korean teams may come from LPL team Anyone's Legend, which is competing under the banner of AG.AL for the EWC in collaboration with fellow Chinese organization All Gamers.

Other notable teams in the competition include CTBC Flying Oyster, which begins the tournament against HLE on Wednesday, plus FlyQuest, Bilibili Gaming, Cloud9, G2 Esports, FURIA, KOI and GAM Esports.

LoL is part of the Club Championship that will award $7 million to the winning team. Gen.G. is looking to build upon their third-place finish in VALORANT and fourth-place showing in Apex Legends during the first week of the 2025 EWC.

--Field Level Media