League of Legends Esports World Cup 2025 Review

From July 16 to 20, 2025, one of the biggest League of Legends tournaments took place in Riyadh. The event brought together the strongest teams from six regions, all of whom had previously battled through intense regional competitions and international events. The tournament delivered a spectacular show filled with highlights, and in this blog, we’ll take a look back at how it all unfolded.

Gen.G – League of Legends EWC 2025 Champions

Let’s start with the most important part — the tournament winners. The champions of the League of Legends Esports World Cup 2025 were Gen.G, who took home $600,000 and 1,000 EWC Club Points. The team began their run directly from the Playoff Stage, bypassing the Bo1 Group Stage entirely.

In their first match, the Quarterfinals, Gen.G faced off against the LTA representative FlyQuest. FlyQuest came into the tournament as dark horses — capable of challenging and even beating the world’s top teams. However, Gen.G lived up to their status as tournament favorites and closed out the series 2–1.

In the Semifinals, Gen.G were matched against G2 Esports — and this series raised a lot of questions about G2. The team has been very inconsistent this year compared to 2024, when they won every LEC split. At MSI 2025, they finished 7th–8th without winning a single Playoff match. Yet, they convincingly defeated BLG 2–0 in the Quarterfinals of EWC, so anything could’ve happened. Still, Gen.G once again proved their strength and took the series 2–1. Despite dropping a game, the match overall felt fairly one-sided in favor of G

AG.AL – The Biggest Surprise of the Tournament

AG.AL — or as we more commonly know them, Anyone’s Legend — turned out to be one of the most exciting teams of the tournament and managed to surprise everyone. With the arrival of their new coach, Tabe, the team began to play in an entirely different way. Up until the end of 2024, they hadn’t qualified for a single major international tournament, but in December 2024, they secured their first title by winning the Demacia Cup. That victory marked the start of their rise — from regional success to making a name for themselves on the global stage.

Anyone’s Legend had already impressed at MSI 2025, where they finished in 3rd place, narrowly losing to T1 in a close 3–2 series. That performance raised an important question: could they deliver the same level at EWC 2025, or was MSI just a one-time success? As it turned out, Anyone’s Legend proved to the world that their Grand Final appearance was the result of hard work and dedication.

At EWC 2025, AG.AL arguably had the toughest bracket of all. In their opening match, they faced Hanwha Life Esports and won 2–1. Next came a revenge match against T1 — and this time, they pulled off a clean 2–0 victory. In the Grand Final, they met Gen.G, and the two teams put on a real show, taking the series to all five games. Anyone’s Legend found themselves down 0–2 but managed to regroup and bring it back to 2–2. The fifth map was dominated by Gen.G, but AL gave them a run for their money.

In the end, Anyone’s Legend secured a well-deserved 2nd place, earning $320,000 and 750 EWC Club Points. Of course, the team was disappointed — everyone came to win — but looking at it objectively, this is a fantastic result. Their runner-up finish now puts them among the top contenders for the Worlds 2025 title. Anyone’s Legend has proven they can win not just at home, but also compete with the world’s best — and succeed. If they can maintain their momentum and learn from their mistakes, we might just witness a historic moment for the team at Worlds 202

Teams Worth Highlighting

CTBC Flying Oyster — a team that truly deserves your attention. Starting from the First Stand tournament, they proved that they shouldn’t be underestimated — if you do, you’ll likely lose the game. They've been performing quite well this season by their standards, finishing 3rd–4th at First Stand, where they came very close to reaching the finals. At MSI, they placed 5th–6th, losing 3–1 to Anyone’s Legend in the Lower Bracket Round 2. Despite the scoreline, every game was competitive — they just need more experience to stand toe-to-toe with top-tier teams. Unfortunately, at EWC 2025, CTBC Flying Oyster couldn’t make it out of the Group Stage. In my opinion, one of the reasons was the Bo1 format — had it been a Bo3, I believe they could’ve defeated MKOI.

The next team worth mentioning is FlyQuest. They’ve made tremendous progress since the beginning of the year. FlyQuest started the season by placing third in their region, then went on to claim first place in the LTA and achieve solid results at international events. At MSI, they went straight into the Playoffs, where their first match was against G2 Esports. Most analysts considered G2 the favorites, but FLY crushed them 3–0. They then faced Bilibili Gaming — a team they actually had a real shot at beating, but fell just short. Still, they finished 5th–6th at MSI, which is quite respectable.

At EWC 2025, FlyQuest advanced to the Playoffs through the lower bracket of their group after losing to G2 Esports in the upper bracket. Unfortunately, their Quarterfinal opponent was none other than Gen.G — the future champions — who defeated FLY 2–0. As a result, FlyQuest finished in the 5th–8th place range.

League of Legends EWC 2025 Results and Prize Pool Distribution

We’ve already covered who claimed the championship — now let’s take a look at the final top-12 standings, along with the prize pool and EWC club point distribution.

No slots or invitations to other Riot Games championships were awarded at EWC 2025. Teams competed solely for the prize money and EWC Club Points, which affect an organization’s standing in the overall EWC rankings. Still, the EWC served as excellent practice ahead of Worlds. Experience like this can only be gained at major international tournaments such as the Esports World Cup.

What’s Next After EWC 2025?

Next, the teams will return home and begin preparing for the biggest League of Legends tournament of the year — the World Championship 2025. Teams will compete for a spot at Worlds through regional tournaments, many of which run simultaneously, with some wrapping up just before the championship begins. For example, on July 23, the LCK Summer 2025 Season - Rounds 3–5 kick s off, featuring the strongest teams from Korea. The LCK Playoffs will take place in September, so stay tuned to the news so you don’t miss the most exciting moments in esports.