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The first international tournament of the 2025 season - First Stand 2025 - is gaining momentum. Let me remind you that 5 teams from 5 regions will play in FST 2025. At stake is the title of champion and $1,000,000 in prize money.
Among the contenders for significant prizes are Liquid and CTBC. We will watch their face-to-face match, which will take place in bo3 format.
Let's find out how this match will end and which team will earn an important win ahead of the play-offs slot allocation.
Let's go.
Team Liquid's uniform
We open the breakdown of Team Liquid vs CTBC with an analysis of Liquid's form. In this match they play as favourites with odds to win around 1.2.
While in 2022 the team was consistently in the top of the local league, finishing top 1 at LCS Lock In 2022, and then top 3 and top 4 at LCS Spring 2022 and LCS Summer 2022 respectively, the situation has changed in 2023. At LCS Spring 2023, the team finished Top 8, which is clearly not the level of a top club.
- Team Liquid roster: Impact, UmTi, APA, Yeon, Corejj.
After the unsuccessful LCS Spring, the team changed the player of the central league. The newcomer was APA, who previously played for Team Liquid Challengers.
Liquid managed to qualify for the LCS Summer 2023 play-offs. They won the group with a score of 10-8, thus securing their place in the top play-offs.
However, they didn't last long there. In the first match Liquid lost to NRG, who are surprising this season. In the first match of the lower play-offs Liquid beat 100 Thieves 3-1 and here they are.
Liquid's next opponent in the play-offs was Dignitas. The latter were no competition for Liquid and the match ended 3-0 in favour of Liquid.
Next was a match against Golden Guardians. Being an outsider on paper, Liquid managed to overcome themselves and closed the series with a score of 3-2. A very nervous series, where after two taken cards Liquid gave up 2, but in the end they still finished what they started.
In the match for the grand final Team Liquid played with NRG. Quite unexpectedly, Liquid lost, and NRG subsequently became LCS Summer 2023 champions.
TL later attended Worlds 2023, where they failed to make it to the group stages, eventually finishing in the top 16. After failing at Worlds 2023, Liquid returned to their home harbour and confidently finished in the top 1 at LCS Spring 2024. In the first round of the Bracket Stage they played against Top Esports and expectedly Ledgeili 0-3 without any competition.
At MSI 2024 Liquid finished in the top 6, which is a good result for a team from LCS.
Liquid also played at EWC 2024, where they took TOP-4, which is neither good nor bad. Next was the LCS 2024 Summer Split, where Team Liquid lost the Grand Final to FlyQuest, but got their slot at Worlds 2024.
The 2024 World Championship, Worlds 2024, was as expected: 2-3 in the group stage and Top 11 at the end of the championship.
They started the 2025 season, as they should, by playing in the regional tournament - LTA. In the "northern conference" - LTA North Split 1 - they took TOP-4, but after that they "rehabilitated" at the LTA Cross-Conference, where they demolished 100 Thieves 3-0 in the grand final.
The performance at the First Stand 2025 Long Convocation started with a game against Karmine Corp.
Team Liquid's most popular champions
Kenen (3 matches, 100% wins), Gnar (3 matches, 33% wins), Jax (2 matches, 100% wins), Rumble (2 matches, 100% wins) are the most frequently sent to the top line.
Foresters pick Vi (4 matches, 50% wins), Wukong (4 matches, 75% wins), Sejuani (2 matches, 50% wins), Lee Sin (2 matches, 50% wins).
In the mid are Ziggs (2 matches, 100% wins), Tristana (1 match, 100% wins), Cassiopeia (1 match, 0 wins), Neeko (1 match, 1 win).
On Shooters Aphelios (6 matches, 66% wins), Ashe (3 matches, 33% wins), Lucia (1 match, 1 win), Samira (1 match, 1 win), Xayah (1 match, 0 wins).
On supporting champions Rakan (4 games, 50% wins), Milio (3 matches, 66% wins), Rell (3 matches, 33% wins).
CTBC Form
We continue the analysis of CTBC - Liquid match with the analysis of CTBC form. In this match they are playing as favourites with odds to win at around 5.
CTBC Flying Oyster is one of the leading teams in Taiwan, but not the first. They are constantly Ledgeaing PSG Talon and there is a reason for that. It's because of CTBC Flying Oyster's youth, playing on the professional scene for only 2 seasons.
In two years they managed to achieve normal results. No more and no less. In 2022, CTBC Flying Oyster made a splash at PCS, first taking the top 1 at the spring split (PCS Spring 2022) and then winning the summer split (PCS Summer 2022), thus qualifying for Worlds 2022.
The team played their first Worlds Championship the way they were expected to - finishing in last place of the group stage, playing it 1-5.
- CTBC Flying Oyster line-up: Rest, JunJia, HongQ, Doggo.
In 2023, the results were more modest, but it was enough to qualify for Worlds 2023. In the first CTBC split, Flying Oyster took the top 3 before losing to PSG Talon in the PCS Summer 2023 finals.
In the first match at Worlds 2023, CTBC played against DetonatioN FocusMe. The match was a bit tense as the Japanese clung to their chances, but overall CTBC was in control and the Taiwanese took the series 2-0.
In the match for the next stage CTBC met Team Whales on their way. The Vietnamese Underpassdogs showed real class as they managed to comeback from 0-1 down to take the series 2-1, leaving the more titled CTBC behind. However, they failed to make it to the next stage: a 0-2 loss to BDS and a top-20 exit from the tournament.
In the 2024 season, CTBC won the PCS Spring 2024 regular season, followed by a top-3 finish at the PCS Spring Playoffs 2024. Next, it was Top-3 at the PCS Summer 2024, and Top-4 at the PCS Summer Playoffs 2024. In the 2024 season, CTBC missed out on all international championships.
In the 2025 season, after the Asian regions were united under one umbrella, the LCP. There, at LCP Split 1, CTBC won the tournament, defeating TALON 3-1.
CTBC's most popular champions Flying Oyster
Fiora, Sion, Kenen and Renekton appeared 3 times each, of which the first two won 2 matches each, but Kenen and Renekton took all their games. Jayce, KSante, Camile, Jax and Gnar appeared 2 times each (Jax won both matches, the others 1-1).
Things are much less varied in the metha dictated forest. The most pickable character is Maokai (7 games, 100% wins). Next are Vi (5 games, 80% wins) and Sejuani and Wukong (4 games each, 50% wins).
The centre line doesn't shine with variety either. The same popular Azir (6 games, 50% wins), Jayce (6 games, 83% wins), Akali (5 games, 80% wins).
In bot - Zeri (7 matches, 100% wins), Lucian (4 matches, 50% wins), Caitlyn (100% wins in 3 matches), Jhin (3 games, 66% wins).
The situation is as follows: Nami, Ashe, Yummi have 4 games each with 2 wins for the first, 3 for the second and perfect winrate for the third. Then come Heim (3 games, 66% wins) and Annie (3 games, 100% wins).
History of head-to-head meetings between Liquid and CTBC
Previously, the teams have not played each other in official matches.
Predicted result of CTBC vs Team Liquid at First Stand 2025
In this match I expect a logical result. Team Liquid should have no trouble beating their vis-a-vis and picking up a "free" win. However, I won't be surprised if LTA residents Ledge on the map or fail the match altogether. Still, the NA LoL cause lives on.
Bottom line: 2-0 win for Liquid.
