LoL: T1 & Invictus Gaming will meet in play-in to open Worlds 2025

T1 and Invictus Gaming (IG) will get the chance to take the final ticket at the 2025 League of Legends World Championship when they clash in a win-or-go-home play-in best-of-five series on Tuesday, October 14.

It’s a heavyweight meeting draped in history: the reigning back-to-back world champions against China’s first-ever world champions, with two iconic mid laners finally set for a full-series duel.

Invictus Gaming’s return is a storybook revival.

• 

  Fast Payouts

The club that shattered the LCK’s dynasty in 2018 will appear at LoL Worlds for the first time since 2019, powered by the reunion of Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok and Song “Rookie” Eui-jin.

Written off as past their peaks, IG’s veterans led a late surge through the LPL 2025 Regional Finals, toppling JD Gaming on Saturday, to lock themselves into the league’s fourth seed.

True to form, TheShy’s edge-of-the-knife style came with spills as well as thrills—but IG’s ceiling returned when it mattered.

T1 arrive as the LCK’s fourth seed after falling to Gen.G in the playoffs last Sunday, but the four-time world champions need no introduction.

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and co. have made a habit of peaking on the sport’s biggest stage, and they enter China aiming for a historic three-peat.

• 

  The bookies' bookie

Beyond the brands, the mid-lane narrative is irresistible.

Despite more than a decade at the top, Rookie and Faker have never faced each other in a best-of-five (or even a best-of-three).

Their only official meetings came at the Mid-Season Invitational 2019 groups in Hanoi—split 1-1, including IG’s 16-minute demolition and T1’s (previously known as SKT) methodical reply.

Six years later, they finally meet in a full series with World Championship stakes from the opening whistle.

This play-in exists because the LPL and LCK earned a fourth Worlds berth through MSI 2025 performance, a perk some view as cosmetic and others as proof of the regions’ sustained dominance.

Either way, the consequence is massive: the winner advances to the Swiss Stage starting Wednesday, October 15, and the loser goes home after a single match.

LoL Worlds 2025 will be held in China from October 14 to November 9.

For T1 and IG, the tournament starts with a time warp—two rosters steeped in legacy, two mids who defined an era, and only one path forward.

The best esports betting sites have T1 marked as heavy -500 favorites ahead of the play-in clash, with IG rated +333 outsiders.