2025 KeSPA Cup: Teams, Schedule, and Format

In a significant development, two major teams from the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), Cloud9 and Team Liquid, have been confirmed to be part of the team lineup for the 2025 KeSPA Cup. The seven-day tournament, scheduled to run from December 6 to December 14, 2025, also sees the participation of national teams from Japan and Vietnam alongside the regular LCK (South Korean) teams. This marks a notable expansion in the tournament lineup.

Specifics about the Tournament

The KeSPA Cup 2025 will feature a wide array of contestants, including all ten LCK teams: Gen.G, T1, KT Rolster, Hanwha Life Esports, Dplus KIA, DRX, Nongshim RedForce, BNK FEARX, OKSavingsBank BRION, and one other team. Joining them are LCS powerhouses, Cloud9 and Team Liquid, and national teams from Japan and Vietnam.

The tournament format involves separating the 14 participating teams into three groups. Each group will then play a single round-robin – every team plays every other team in their group once. The matches in the group stages will be ‘Best of 1’ (Bo1). The top team in each group gets a direct entry to the Finals, while runner-up teams advance to the Breakout Stage, in line with recent KeSPA Cup formats.

The tournament carries a prize pool of $68,285. Broadcasting rights for all matches have been secured by Disney+, marking a new strategic alliance aimed at introducing the Korean esports scene to a wider audience.

The Impact of New Inclusions

The participation of Cloud9 and Team Liquid holds the distinction of being the first instance where two major North American teams are jointly invited – a rare occurrence since KeSPA Cup has scarcely involved Western teams before, typically involving only one per event.

The introduction of national teams from Japan and Vietnam reflects a strategic alignment with the preparations for the 2026 Asian Games, where League of Legends will again be an official discipline. It is reported by the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) that this expanded lineup is a strategic move to align with the rising regional competitive standards and increased international collaborations leading up to the Asian Games.

The KeSPA Cup 2025 also serves as a platform to showcase newly reconfigured rosters before the LCK Spring Split and an opportunity for promising talents and new players to demonstrate their skills.

Additional Information Resources

Complete information about the tournament, including the split of teams among groups, its detailed schedule, real-time results, and match statistics can be obtained from platforms such as EGamersWorld and Bo3.gg. For live match updates and supplementary coverage, viewers can tune in to Strafe and Disney+. For specific details like match-by-match scheduling, group splits, and player rosters, esports databases such as Leaguepedia and Liquipedia can be followed.