2025 LCK league games to feature major changes
The 2025 League of Legends Champions Korea league games begin next week, with significant changes aimed at making the tournament more exciting for esports fans.
LCK, South Korea's professional LoL esports league, is one of the five major regional leagues in the LoL scene, alongside China's LPL and North America's LCS. The league is widely regarded as one of the premier leagues in the LoL ecosystem, holding the record for winning nine out of the 14 LoL World Championship titles.
This year, the LCK will undergo a major format change. Instead of the traditional spring and summer splits, the league will be held as a continuous six-month season. Ten teams, including LoL powerhouses such as Hanwha Life Esports and T1, will participate.
From April 2 to June 1, rounds 1 and 2 will take place. Rounds 3 to 5, including the playoffs, will be held from July 23 to Sept. 28.
Another change to the league game system includes the LCK Road to MSI tournaments, where the top six teams from rounds 1 and 2 will earn a spot. The LCK Road to MSI will determine the two teams advancing to the Mid-Season Invitational in June. MSI is one of three major international LoL tournaments hosted by Riot Games.
The 2025 LCK will also feature the Fearless Draft system, which prohibits players from using the same champion twice in a match. The prize money for the final winning team has been bumped up to 300 million won ($204,627) from last year's 200 million won.
At a media event in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Wednesday, Hanwha Life Esports, winners of the LCK Cup and First Stand Tournament, was selected by players on site as the strongest championship contenders. T1 was also mentioned as a potential title contender, with the Fearless Draft system seen as one of their strengths.
Hanwha Life's head coach Choi In-gyu commented that he considered the LCK Cup and First Stand tournaments as 'test stages' and believed the team had not yet shown its best performance. He expressed his commitment to developing more diverse champion picks and creating new strategies for success.
Han 'Peanut' Wang-ho, the team's star jungler, added, "Since the (LCK) season is long, I think we need to be ready for the long run. All I can think about is wanting to compete at MSI."
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