Summary:
- The KeSPA Cup 2025 came right after Worlds 2025, giving fans one final opportunity to enjoy high-level League of Legends.
- In the Grand Finals, T1 had an incredible comeback win against HLE to take home their first-ever championship trophy.
The 2025 KeSPA Cup just ended in epic fashion, with T1 taking home the trophy for the first time ever! The timing of this tournament was just perfect, right after Worlds 2025. This gives players an opportunity to show off their performance after a world-class performance.
Group Stage Standings
Group A
The Group A leader was Hanwha Life Esports (HLE), going undefeated at 4-0 for their group stage. The second-place finisher of Group A was Cloud9, earning a record of 3-1 with a breakout performance, defeating Gen.G, which surprisingly only finished with a record of 0-4.
| Hanwha Life Esports | 4-0 |
| Cloud9 | 3-1 |
| FEARX | 2-2 |
| Vietnam | 1-3 |
| Gen.G Esports | 0-4 |
Group B
In Group B, Dplus KIA (DK) took first place with a 4-0 record. The other teams, DRX and DN Freecs, finished at 2-2 and were separated by tiebreakers, which put DN Freecs in 2nd place.
| Dplus KIA | 4-0 |
| DN Freecs | 2-2 |
| DRX | 2-2 |
| KT Rolster | 1-3 |
| BRION | 1-3 |
Group C
Group C saw T1 join DK and HLE as one of the three undefeated teams with their 3-0 record. After T1, NH was able to finish second with a score of 2-1.
| T1 | 3-0 |
| Nongshin RedForce | 2-1 |
| Team Liquid | 1-2 |
| Japan | 0-3 |
Last Chance Qualifier Results
The first-place finishes automatically qualified HLE, DK, and T1 for the knockout stage. Meanwhile, the runner-up teams (Cloud9, DN Freecs, and NS) played in the Last Chance Qualifier, with NS winning the best-of-three matches and creating an all-LCK playoff.
| Nongshin RedForce | 2-0 |
| Cloud9 | 1-1 |
| DN Freecs | 0-2 |
Knockout Bracket Results
Upper/Lower-Bracket Semifinals
Day 5 started off with a bang, as the intensity of the Best-of-Three format reached unprecedented levels. DK dominated NS to take the series 2-1.
Meanwhile, HLE was in a real nail-biter versus T1 during which MVP Peyz got a pentakill. However, it wasn’t enough to save them from being put in the lower bracket after losing 1-2. Then, T1 came back quickly and stomped NS in a 2-0 rematch.
Upper/Lower-Bracket Finals
Day 6 substantially increased hype when the Upper Bracket Semifinals were changed to a best-of-5 format. HLE defeated DK, who were undefeated going into the match, 3-2.
It turned into a bloody massacre, complete with Smash’s second pentakill of the tournament on Zeri and Zeus’ clutch Camille to secure the win. Because of this performance, Zeus was awarded the MVP for the series.
On the 7th day of the tournament, T1 came through with a big-time comeback against DK in the lower bracket to win 3-2. That’s after being down 0-2 before the match began.
Grand Finals
In the Grand Finals on the eighth day, T1 pulled off a huge upset against HLE, coming back from a 0-2 lead to win 3-2. This gives T1 their very first KeSPA Cup championship title in 2025 since 2015.
KeSPA Cup 2025 Final Standings
| Place | Team |
| 1st | T1 |
| 2nd | Hanwha Life Esports |
| 3rd | Dplus KIA |
| 4th | Nongshim RedForce |
| 5th | Cloud9 |
| 6th | DN Freecs |
| 7th-9th | FEARX
DRX Team Liquid |
| 10th-12th | Vietnam
KT Rolster Japan |
| 13th-14th | Gen.G Esports
BRION |
Conclusion
Although the main focus of the KeSPA Cup 2025 was LCK’s impressive performances, it also highlighted other skillsets from outside of South Korea as well. If you didn’t catch a match, you can still catch all the action of the KeSPA Cup 2025 here! Let’s get ready for the Spring Split, but in the meantime, let’s celebrate the champions who took over December.
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