The 2025 League of Legends Esports World Cup is nearly finished, with only two BO5 matches left. On the last match day, heavy favorites T1 and GEN both suffered surprising losses to underdogs, ending their runs in the EWC semifinals. In T1's match against KC, the two teams fought hard over three games. In the first game, T1 started strong, with all players in top form, crushing all three lanes to secure the first victory. Doran's Jayce was outstanding, leaving a strong impression.

After winning the first game, everyone thought this BO3 would be an easy win, but then T1 suddenly "lost it." Both the top and bottom lanes were overwhelmed, and Oner turned into a jungle feeder, while Faker was left to watch his teammates repeatedly fall. Eventually, KC tied the score. The third game was quite unfortunate—if T1 had played more carefully, they could have easily won. They led by nearly 7K gold at 22 minutes, but then in the dragon soul team fight, T1 made consecutive mistakes and lost the dragon.

By the time the sixth dragon spawned, T1 managed to secure the soul, but Smeb's Gnar hit a three-man stun, nearly pushing T1's base. The game stretched to 38 minutes, and T1 attempted to end with the Baron buff, but Yike stepped up again. His Wukong ult caught three players, and T1's team fight instantly collapsed. Although Peyz survived, the enemy team used all their resources to stop him from recalling. Finally, KC's top laner, mid laner, and ADC pushed the wave and destroyed T1's base to win the match.

Wow, if KC could come back against a T1 that had a 7K gold lead, then AL's 0-3 loss doesn't seem so unjustified. With the home crowd advantage, this European team's strength is truly beyond expectations. But this was just the first upset in the semifinals. GEN's loss to DK and elimination was even more surprising. Motivated by the prospect of getting their salaries, all DK players performed at their peak this EWC, with ShowMaker repeatedly leading the team to crush top-tier teams.

In the first game, DK had a huge lead from the start, with Smash's Ezreal dealing insane damage in team fights. By 30 minutes, DK had a 10K gold advantage. However, in a seemingly sure win, DK, holding the dragon soul, kept giving opportunities, and GEN even managed to reverse the gold lead. But in the decisive team fight, Smash made a big play. After the support was killed, ShowMaker watched from a distance, and the jungler's Guardian Angel was popped, DK's top laner and ADC fought 2v4 and won the fight.

In the second game, GEN put on a poke comp masterclass. Kiin's Jayce and Ruler's Ziggs constantly harassed before fights, draining DK's HP so much that they couldn't engage. GEN tied the series. In the decisive third game, both teams played cautiously. It took until the 15-minute mark for GEN to get first blood, but in subsequent team fights, DK kept winning. Smash's Lucian snowballed beyond control, and GEN simply couldn't withstand his damage in fights.

Ultimately, Smash finished with a perfect 10-0-7 KDA, leading DK to defeat GEN and advance to the finals. First they beat BLG, then sent GEN home. Before the tournament, these two teams were considered the biggest championship favorites. DK managed to win consecutively—ShowMaker, driven by the desire for his salary, is truly unstoppable. In one EWC tournament, two dark horse teams have emerged simultaneously. No one knows which of these two will take the final championship.

In terms of on-stage performance, DK appears slightly stronger than KC. However, KC toppled T1, so they are no pushovers either. The finals between these two teams will likely go to a full BO5. Besides the finals, T1 and GEN will also play a BO3 to determine third place. This match is expected to draw even more attention than the finals, given Faker's immense influence and authority.

Conclusion:

These two finalists are quite interesting. In the group stage, KC lost to GEN, and DK lost to AL. But after falling into the losers' bracket, both teams went on winning streaks to reach the finals. This year's EWC feels like a blossoming of many different regions. If KC can win the championship, then the European region can no longer be called a weak region.

So, who do you think will win the championship?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss!