The League of Legends S15 World Championship is just one month away, and the battle for spots across all regions has intensified. The LCK recently started the second round of playoffs. GEN vs KT ended with a 3-0 clean sweep. Having just blanked DK, KT was then swept by GEN—their strength is really puzzling. What's more, KT had the lead in the early game for all three matches but still ended up losing.

In the first game, KT secured the Dragon Soul. In the crucial Elder Dragon teamfight, they even took down Kiin first. But in a 5v4 situation, nobody thought to limit "Third Uncle" (Canyon), and a misplay with the Bard Q+Smite led to the Elder Dragon being stolen. However, KT traded their top laner for the Baron to stall. In the second decisive Elder Dragon teamfight, the same story unfolded: KT's jungler and AD miscommunicated, "Third Uncle" stole the Elder again, and the game ended in one wave.

In the second game, both teams were cautious, with first blood only coming at 12 minutes. KT's two kills both went to their carry Zeri. In subsequent teamfights, KT won repeatedly, and Zeri racked up kills. Normally, such a fed Zeri would carry, but Chovy's Akali was too strong—Yuumi couldn't protect Zeri at all. She got burst down in two teamfights, and GEN took match point. In the decisive game, KT's bot lane got a lane kill, and the jungler secured two dragons afterward.

KT had the dragon and kill lead but fell behind in gold. In the second dragon teamfight and the Baron teamfight, KT was wiped out twice, and the game lost all suspense. Holding advantages but unable to win fights, the gap in raw strength between KT and T1 was significant. With this win, GEN advanced to the winners' bracket final and qualified for the World Championship. Since they are guaranteed at least top three, GEN's lowest seed is the third seed.

While GEN made it to Worlds, T1 also got in without lifting a finger. Although the second round of the winners' bracket in the lower half hasn't been played yet, according to playoff rules, even if T1 loses, they directly enter the third round of the losers' bracket, guaranteeing at least the fourth seed. So T1 has also qualified for Worlds. Riot recently announced the Worlds rules: the fourth seeds from China and Korea skip the Play-In and go straight to the Swiss Stage.

Therefore, the outcomes of the remaining matches don't affect Worlds qualification. If they can't push further, it only affects domestic standings. Facing the first seeds from Europe, America, and Brazil in Worlds should not be too stressful for Chinese and Korean teams. Three LCK teams have already locked in Worlds spots, leaving only one slot left. The remaining three teams—BFX, DK, and KT—are fighting for that one spot. Judging by the situation, KT has the biggest advantage.

KT currently sits in the second round of the losers' bracket. If they win just one match, they will face the loser of T1 vs HLE, guaranteeing at least the fourth seed. For BFX and DK, their chances are slim. These two teams first need to play a BO5, and the winner will challenge KT. "Brother Xu" (ShowMaker) was stomped by KT in his first playoff match, while BFX went the full five games against T1. Based on playoff performance alone, BFX seems stronger than DK.

If "Brother Xu" loses the next match, he's out of Worlds. But even if he wins, he still has to face KT again. Last time he was blanked, and the chances of winning in a rematch are very low. So it's likely that DK won't make it to Worlds this year. However, we can't completely write off "Brother Xu" yet—if they can regain their regular-season form, DK's strength is still considerable. Winning two BO5s in a row is not impossible.

Conclusion:

Seven teams have already secured spots in the World Championship: TSW, CFO, and MVKE from the LCP, BLG from our region (LPL), and HLE, GEN, and T1 from the LCK. Among these seven, only MVKE needs to play in the Play-In; the rest go straight to the Swiss Stage. GEN has qualified for Worlds for seven consecutive years, with previous records of 8-4-4-8-4-4. We'll see if they can break through this year.

So, do you think "Brother Xu" can still make it to Worlds?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss!