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At face value, it looks like another Korea versus Korea grand finals, but there’s a bigger story going on here.
League of Legends and esports fans await the conclusion of Worlds 2025 as a classic South Korean esports rivalry finally made it to the international stage.
Five-time world champions T1 will face KT Rolster this Sunday, November 9, at the Dong’an Lake Sports Park Multifunctional Gymnasium in Chengdu, China. For some, Worlds 2025 is just another South Korea grand finals. For others, it’s a match-up that’s been years in the making.
The T1 and KT rivalry basically spans the length of South Korea’s LoL esports history. Dubbed ‘The Telecom Wars’ as both teams are backed by the biggest telecommunication companies in South Korea, T1 and KT’s matches have always been anticipated, even when their rivalry tends to be one-sided.
T1 has had KT’s number for the majority of their history together. After all, it was from their rivalry that we got one of the most iconic outplays in LoL history. This was also the launchpad of one Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s career. He would defeat KT once again in the South Korea regional finals, denying them the final spot to Worlds 2013.
From there, Faker and SK Telecom T1 (as the team was previously known) would go on an absolute tear in Worlds 2013, claiming their first-ever Worlds title, and we all know the story from there.
Unexpected Results
While these two teams would meet each other in many more grand finals within the South Korean league, KT’s international record has been less than stellar. They’ve only made it to Worlds four times with big gaps between appearances. And they’ve always been knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in their previous attempts.
This has led to the meme of KT fans saying that they shouldn’t get excited because if they do, the team will somehow find a way to horribly disappoint them. That’s a little unfair, as KT has consistently been one of South Korea’s strongest teams. But considering their wonky history, it’s no surprise that they’re frequently overlooked or even underestimated.
Worlds 2025 is a completely different story for KT, however. While they entered as the third seed, their performance so far has made them the strongest South Korean team in the tournament.
Throughout their entire Worlds 2025 run, KT has only lost a single game. Some would argue that that’s because they’ve only faced weaker teams, but their 3-1 victory over the 2025 MSI champions Gen.G Esports in the semifinals proves KT are the real deal. In fact, you could say they’re the favorites to win, even over the reigning five-time world champions.
A Lasting Legacy
At this point, T1’s dominance on the Worlds stage is an actual fact, even though it may sound like fiction. They’re the only team with five World Championships, two of them back-to-back; no Worlds finish lower than semifinals; 100% win rate against China in Worlds matches.
And through it all is Faker – the player with the most World Championships, the most Worlds appearances, just straight up the most decorated LoL esports player in the world. He and T1 have literally built their legacy as being the team to beat in Worlds. And right now, he’s hunting for the three-peat – an achievement that was denied to him back in 2017.
It sounds crazy to ever bet against T1 in Worlds 2025, but there’s always that small chance. We know that T1 is beatable. It just comes down to whether or not their opponent can surpass their hunger and drive. And there’s no better setup for it than South Korea’s El Clásico.
12 years after Faker’s debut and rise to fame, T1 and KT are finally facing each other for the first time on the Worlds stage. One is fighting for their sixth World Championship, further solidifying their LoL esports dominance. The other fights to establish their own legacy, and maybe get some revenge for their one-sided rivalry along the way.
One thing’s for sure, the Worlds 2025 grand finals are going to be epic — one that will be remembered in LoL esports history.
Banner photo by Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games.