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We continue to follow the action on the international League of Legends stage in the 2025 season. From July 16 to 20, the League of Legends Esports World Cup 2025 is taking place in Riyadh, where 12 teams are competing for a $2,000,000 prize pool.
On July 16–17, the group stage is held in a best-of-one format, where teams fight for playoff seeding. Among the contenders are MKOI and CFO, who will play a do-or-die match.
Let’s break down which team—MKOI or CFO—is more likely to secure a playoff spot.
Let’s go.
How the bookies view it: CFO favorite
Before the match kicks off, let’s analyze which side is favored. CFO is the clear favorite in this matchup, with odds of 1.5 for their victory.
It’s no surprise that CFO is leading. The LCP representatives performed well at the Mid-Season Invitational 2025, and are rightfully seen as the stronger side in this match.
CTBC Flying Oyster – one of Taiwan’s leading teams
By League of Legends standards, CTBC Flying Oyster is a relatively young team.
They’ve managed to achieve top results in just a few years. In 2022, CTBC Flying Oyster made headlines in the PCS, first claiming 1st place in the Spring Split (PCS Spring 2022), then winning the Summer Split (PCS Summer 2022), which earned them a spot at Worlds 2022.
They performed at their first World Championship as expected—finishing last in the group stage with a 1–5 record.
- CTBC Flying Oyster roster: Driver, JunJia, HongQ, Doggo, Kaiwing.
In 2023, their results were more modest, but still enough to qualify for Worlds 2023. They placed 3rd in the PCS Spring Split and lost to PSG Talon in the PCS Summer 2023 finals.
At Worlds 2023, CTBC played DetonatioN FocusMe in their opening match. The game was somewhat tense—Japan’s team tried to find openings—but overall, CTBC remained in control and closed out the series 2–0.
In the qualification match for the next stage, CTBC faced Team Whales. The Vietnamese underdogs showed real class, coming back from 0–1 to win the series 2–1, eliminating the more decorated CTBC. However, Team Whales themselves were knocked out in the next round by BDS, finishing 20th.
In the 2024 season, CTBC won the PCS Spring 2024 regular season but placed 3rd in the Spring Playoffs. They also finished 3rd in PCS Summer 2024 and 4th in the Summer Playoffs. CTBC missed all international tournaments in 2024.
In 2025, following the merger of Asian regions into a single league—LCP—CTBC confidently secured their place as regional leaders. At LCP Split 1, they won the tournament by defeating TALON 3–1. After this domestic triumph, CFO attended First Stand 2025—the first international tournament of the season. They reached the playoffs and finished in the Top-3, losing the semifinal to Karmine Corp.
Following a strong showing at First Stand 2025, CTBC competed in LCP Mid Season 2025, once again winning their domestic league and earning a slot at Mid-Season Invitational 2025. At MSI 2025, they finished in the Top-6, putting up a fight against top-tier teams like T1—which says a lot.
At First Stand 2025, CTBC (CFO) began in Group B, where they lost to HLE and dropped to the lower bracket. There, they defeated GAM.
CTBC Flying Oyster’s Most Played Champions
Fiora, Sion, Kennen, and Renekton were picked 3 times each. Fiora and Sion won 2 games each, while Kennen and Renekton won all of theirs. Jayce, K’Sante, Camille, Jax, and Gnar appeared twice; Jax won both his games, the others had a 1–1 record.
In the jungle, meta dictated less diversity. Maokai was picked 7 times with a 100% win rate. Vi followed with 5 picks and an 80% win rate, while Sejuani and Wukong appeared in 4 games each, both with a 50% win rate.
Mid lane also lacked variety. Popular picks included Azir (6 games, 50% win rate), Jayce (6 games, 83% win rate), and Akali (5 games, 80% win rate).
On the bot lane, Zeri (7 games, 100% win rate), Lucian (4 games, 50%), Caitlyn (3 games, 100%), and Jhin (3 games, 66%) stood out.
For supports: Nami, Ashe, and Yuumi had 4 games each—2 wins for Nami, 3 for Ashe, and a perfect win rate for Yuumi. Heimerdinger (3 games, 66%) and Annie (3 games, 100%) followed.
MKOI form: What can we expect from KOI?
KOI has long been part of the LEC ecosystem—sometimes qualifying for the main event, sometimes dropping out. Last season, for example, they competed under the MAD Lions banner. As a standalone organization, KOI’s track record is modest.
- KOI roster: Myrwyn, Elyoya, Jojopyun, Supa, Alvaro.
In 2023, KOI participated in the LEC but achieved limited success. After a strong performance in LEC Winter 2023 (Top-3), they placed 6th and 8th in LEC Spring and Summer, respectively. Still, the core of the MAD Lions lineup remained, a team that once posed serious competition to giants like G2 and Fnatic.
After returning to the big stage in League of Legends, KOI performed well in the group stage of LEC Winter 2025, finishing 6–3 and tying with G2 and Karmine Corp. In the playoffs, KOI defeated BDS 2–0 but lost to Karmine Corp by the same score. They dropped to the lower bracket and beat GiantX 2–0, only to lose to Fnatic later and finish 4th overall.
In the LEC Spring 2025 regular season, KOI qualified for playoffs after six weeks of competition. In a surprising result, they beat Karmine Corp 3–2 in their first playoff match, advancing to the upper bracket final. There, they lost 1–3 to G2 Esports. However, KOI made an unexpected comeback in the grand final and defeated G2 to claim the championship title. This earned them a spot at MSI 2025, where they placed 7th—a solid result for an LEC team.
KOI’s Most Played Champions
In the top lane, Fiora (2 games, 100% win rate) and K’Sante (2 games, 50%) were the most common picks. Renekton (1 game, 100%) and Gnar (1 game, 0% win rate) also appeared.
In the jungle, Sejuani was picked 3 times (66% win rate). Wukong had 2 games (50%), and Maokai appeared once and won.
In mid, Viktor and Akali had 2 games each (1–1 for both). Azir and Sylas were picked once and both won.
As ADCs, Varus was picked 3 times (66% win rate), Lucian twice (1–1), and Sivir once (1–0).
For supports, Thresh and Lulu were each picked twice (1–1), while Nami and Ashe both had one game and won.
Recent Head-to-Head: CTBC
These teams have already faced each other this season. Their match took place at MSI 2025, where CTBC came out on top.
Predicted result for KOI vs CTBC at LoL Esports World Cup 2025
My prediction favors CTBC. They’ve already beaten KOI on the international stage, and overall look strong—both at EWC 2025 and globally. That said, the best-of-one format can always bring surprises.
Prediction: CFO win.
