“There’s no way around it,” Gen.G Canyon on the sacrifice made to reach Worlds 2025

The 2025 League of Legends World Championship has begun, and Gen.G are once again in the spotlight. The LCK’s first seed opened the tournament with a strong win against PSG Talon, confirming why many consider them the main favorite to lift the Summoner’s Cup this year.

Gen.G entered Worlds after a dominant year that included victories at MSI 2025 and the Esports World Cup which made them the clear favorites. Yet Worlds is always unpredictable and the new Swiss format allows little room for error. Even strong teams can stumble and it almost happened to Gen.G as their opening match against PSG Talon was too close to be called a dominant victory.

But at Worlds, the journey matters little as long as a team can qualify for Playoffs. Gen.G road will continue tomorrow when they will face Anyone’s Legends, LPL second seed, who defeated HLE earlier in the day.

“Even despite [AL] being at a disadvantage, they always come to fight very fearlessly,” said Gen.G jungler Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu in an interview ith Jaxon.GG. Canyon said he felt happy about the team’s first win but added they will have to “prepare much better” and play well to win the next match.

Meta and the Match Against Anyone’s Legends

Canyon remembered that Gen.G faced AL both at MSI and EWC this year. But while time has passed to recall the former, Canyon remembers just how long and tense the final of EWC against AL was. He said that what impressed him most was how AL always fights “fearlessly,” even when they are behind, making him more wary of the LPL second seed.

However, the jungler knows that his team is favorite to win Worlds, and while he sees it as a great thing, he does not let it affect him.

“Just thinking about back when we were at the [EWC] finals and when we were at the top of other tournaments against the same opponent, I didn’t feel like [our performance] was that dominant,” said Canyon. “It was pretty close and all the games were pretty neck and neck.”

Yet Gen.G’s preparation for the tournament remains as methodical as ever. Canyon explained that, as a team, Gen.G focuses the discussion around draft. But when it comes to his solo preparation he just tries to find the “most adequate play style “ for the current patch and work on it. The approach is simple but effective, as the team thinks and adapts as one while Canyon continues to balance strategy with instinct.

Gen.G Esports after victory at Worlds 2025 Swiss Stage on October 15, 2025 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Liu YiCun/Riot Games)

While Riot focused patch 25.19 and 25.20 to adjust more flex picks for AP jungles, Canyon expects his pool to continue favoring AD or utility picks. However, he also believes that in best-of-five matches the meta will change quickly.

That prediction could open room for champions that have been missing from competitive play for months. Canyon’s history shows he is not afraid to experiment when the moment demands it, and Gen.G’s understanding of draft dynamics is among the best in the world.

Canyon’s “Sacrifice”

This year’s Worlds anthem, “Sacrifice,” honors what pro players give up to reach the highest level, and Canyon relates strongly to that theme.

“You have to invest and sacrifice your own time and you have to invest everything into the game in order to climb this high,” said Gen.G jungler.

Yet he does not see those losses as negative. He said that while he lacks time for himself, he gains much more in experience and growth. For him, the trade-off is part of the job. Being a professional player requires full commitment, and he called it “just a given” that sacrifices must be made. In his words, there is “no way around it.”

• Read also: ‘Sacrifice’ is a love letter to LoL esports history

Canyon said that to reach the levels of players at Worlds, sacrifice is necessary. The hours of practice, the missed breaks, and the focus on improvement are all natural parts of the path to pro.

Gen.G’s run at Worlds 2025 started strong, but the hardest part lies ahead. The goal is the Summoner’s Cup, and for Canyon lifting the trophy is also about proving that every sacrifice was worth it.

Featured image credit: Canyon of Gen.G Esports at the LoL Worlds 2025 Broadcast Day on October 11, 2025 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Christina Oh/Riot Games)