The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is set to kick off its representative selection for the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) on June 7 at LoL Park in Seoul. This year, six teams will vie for two coveted slots to represent the region at MSI in Vancouver, Canada, later in June.
The tournament will commence with a gripping opening match featuring Dplus KIA against kt Rolster. These teams previously competed in a best-of-three tiebreaker on June 4 for fifth and sixth place in the Regular Season, both finishing with identical 10–8 records and a +2 game differential. The stakes are high as the winner of this matchup in the upcoming best-of-five “King of the Hill” format will advance to face fourth-place Nongshim RedForce on June 8.
Following that, top-seeded Gen.G will clash with second-place Hanwha Life Esports on June 13 in Busan to secure the LCK’s first seed. The team that doesn’t succeed in this match will face the winner of the earlier match on June 14, ultimately leading to a decisive match on June 15 to determine the second seed.
In a notable shift in gameplay dynamics, recent midseason balance updates have influenced teams’ strategies regarding objectives. Patch 25.9 introduced significant changes, such as combined Heralds, which teams are leveraging to increase their win rates, currently around 80 percent for teams securing them. The adjustments to Voidling spawn timers have improved jungler flexibility by reducing conflicts with dragon engagements. Teams will be competing on patch 25.11, emphasizing their need for swift adaptation.
Highlighting individual talent, DRX’s bottom laner Tian “Zhen” You-Cheng has made history by becoming the first foreign player in LCK to earn both Player of the Match and Gold King honors within the same week, after a stunning quadra kill against OKSavingsBank BRION on May 29. Dplus KIA’s Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram leads the nominations with three weekly Gold King titles, while T1’s Sin “Smash” Geum-jae and Nongshim RedForce’s Jung “Jiwoo” Ji-woo trail closely with two each.
This competitive environment showcases the high skill level and intense rivalry in the league, which fans can look forward to as the tournament unfolds. The upcoming matches promise to be thrilling, fostering excitement and showcasing the best of Korean esports talent.