LoL esports: BNK FearX defy odds to win Asia Invitational 

BNK FearX might have been the underdog heading into the Asian Invitational grand finals, but they performed when it mattered most, with a 3-2 victory over Dplus KIA in Sunday’s decider. 

BFX were priced as long as +175 heading into the clash against the impressive DK (-250) but the two Korean outfits clearly did not get the message about it being a one-sided affair as they produced an entertaining battle, which could have gone either way. 

BFX  pocket ¥600,000 CNY (USD $84,331) for the victory, while DK receive ¥400,000(USD $54,000) for their efforts, with the tournament splitting ¥1,500,000 CNY between the eight teams. 

BFX were jumped on the opening map but this appeared to spark them into action and they then rattled off three of the next four maps, eventually winning the match on the fifth map in the Best of Five battle. BFX had fallen behind after dropping the third map, and live betting options, if you took advantage of them could have secured you upwards of +550 if you bet on them at this point. 

But their dominance in Game 4 (25–9), where they recorded 25 kills and destroyed nine towers, and then in Game 5 (19–8), with 19 kills and seven towers, sealed the series.

The Asian Invitational featured eight teams that have not made the cut for the LoL Worlds event, which is about to kick off. 

The tournament featured grand finalists, DK and BFX, with Nongshim RedForce the other LCK representative; while Ninjas in Pyjamas, JD Gaming and Weibo Gaming represented the LPL, and GAM esports and MGN Vikings were there on behalf of the LCP. 

It was the three Korean teams and Weibo that reached the knockout rounds, with DK beating FearX and Nongshim Redforce to reach the finals, while BFX defeated Weibo and NS to earn their spot. 

The victory was undoubtedly set up by the outstanding form of emerging AD Carry Nam “Diable” Dae-geun, who was awarded the finals MVP and earmarked himself further as a rising League of Legends esports star. His outstanding performance included a Pentakill on the fourth map, which kept his team alive and sent them into a deciding fifth map. 

Asian Invitational 2025 viewership steady

While the Asian Invitational as an online tournament was not expected to draw massive viewership the numbers remained steady, with a peak during the grand final of 318,816. Only two matches for the entire series surpassed 200,000.