- Image of Worlds 25, Courtesy of Riot Games

Worlds 2025: T1 Battle Invictus Gaming For a Swiss Stage Spot

Originally posted on Total Apex Gaming | By Devin Morris | Last updated Oct 13, 2025 7:54 PM ET

In the last couple of years, all LCK and LPL teams have skipped the Play-In stage at Worlds. However, this year, the Play-In has been reduced to two teams. Only the fourth seeds from the winner and runner-up regions of MSI will participate in the Play-In Bo5. T1 will take on Invictus Gaming for the final spot in the Swiss Stage. T1 has never lost a Bo5 to LPL at Worlds, while Doran has never beaten LPL at Worlds. Which record will be broken?

Worlds 2025: T1 Versus Invictus Gaming Start Time

The first match of Worlds will start at 1:00 AM PT (10:00 AM CET, October 14th). It will be the only day for the next couple of days, beginning at this time.

Can IG Rely Solely on GALA?

During the LPL Playoffs and Regional Finals, the majority of the IG roster struggled to find form. The only player who delivered was GALA. The Chinese AD carry pulled out all the stops to ensure that IG would have a chance to qualify for Worlds. Coming into their series against T1, IG will need more than just Gala to get the job done. The Jungle-Support for IG must step up to give them a chance in this series. T1’s best players throughout most of the year are Oner and Keria. If Wei and Meiko can not stand up to them, GALA might not have the space to carry.

T1 Versus LPL Against Doran Versus LPL

Image of T1 Roster courtesy of T1 and LoL Now

A storyline that has permeated throughout the past Worlds events is T1’s dominance over the LPL. In the fifteen years that the event has been running, T1 has never lost a Best of 5 to the LPL. For the last two Worlds, the only LPL team to take two games off of T1 was Bilibili Gaming in the Grand Final. On the other hand, Doran has struggled to perform at Worlds, and especially against LPL teams.

In his last two Worlds appearances, Doran has lost to BLG on both occasions. Both series ended 3-2. Last year, Doran had a decent series, but in 2023, he had a performance that he would like to forget. However, no one forgets Doran flashing over the wall with nothing happening on the map to BLG members. Will T1 continue their dominance over the LPL, or will Doran’s streak end T1’s consistent top-four placement at Worlds?

Permeatations

The winner of the series will advance to the Swiss Stage, while the loser sees their year come to an end. The winner will be placed in Pool 3, where they could face GenG Esports, Bilibili Gaming, G2 Esports, FlyQuest, or CTBC Flying Oyster. However, the winner can not face a team from their region. The current third seed from the winning region of the Play-Ins will move up to Pool 2.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Gaming and was syndicated with permission.

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