T1 eliminates Invictus Gaming in LoL Worlds Play-Ins, qualifies for Swiss Stage

The 2025 LoL Worlds is here, and it started with a blast! T1 took down Invictus Gaming 3-1 to claim the last spot in the Swiss stage. Let’s break down how the match went!

The T1 vs iG play-ins: Game by game

Game 1

Image Source: LoL Esports Youtube channel

Invictus Gaming eventually accrued a 3k gold advantage, and most importantly, claimed the Infernal Soul. Rookie was fully online as Ryze, being ahead of Faker by 3k gold himself as well.

And then came the flip side of TheShy. He tried diving Gumayusi’s Sivir 30 minutes into the game. The rest of T1 came to the rescue, cut off his team, and took him down. This allowed T1 to win the rest of the fight, grab Baron, and reverse the lead.

The LCK representative then marched into iG’s base and claimed the win just 3 minutes later, off the back of a single over-extension.

Game 2

Image Source: LoL Esports Youtube channel

If game 1 was relatively tame, game 2 was much more explosive. That set the standard for the rest of the series!

iG claimed an early lead in the second game through farm and plates. T1 then fought back as their K’Sante, Akali, and Rakan dive squad took over a skirmish for grubs.

From that point on, action was unrelenting. Both teams contested every objective (and seemed to view cannon minions as objectives too). Every fight was back and forth, making the game remain extremely close by minute 27.

That’s when iG flipped the game on its head after dismantling T1 in one teamfight. They grabbed Baron off the back of it, collecting a 6k gold lead by the end of it. The next fight put the final nail in T1’s coffin, and iG evened the series after a 39-kill game.

Game 3

Image Source: LoL Esports Youtube channel

“From that point on, action was unrelenting”. Well, it certainly did not relent in game 3 either!

With a lane swap, T1 opened the hostilities by diving TheShy for first blood. Then, two successive fights for first drake installed them solidly in the lead.

Invictus Gaming started fighting back through Rookie getting strongly ahead of Faker. The GOAT’s Annie is said to be one of his weak spots, and this game did not beat the allegations. But bot lane fights seemed to be iG’s bane in this game. T1 claimed two more teamfight victories for third drake and for Atakhan.

Still though, fights remained competitive. Invictus Gaming brought monstrous damage with Rumble, Hwei, and Smolder, and T1’s carries often fell prey to iG’s triple firepower. But with that much damage came an equally strong lack of mobility. With a few more picks, T1 stormed to 2-1 in 35 minutes.

Game 4

Image Source: LoL Esports Youtube channel

Why put the foot off the pedal when we’ve started off so well? Game 4 was the shortest, but also the bloodiest.

A third round of lane swaps caused TheShy’s top lane Varus to face an Ashe, while mid lane opposed Nautilus-Sylas to Leblanc-Lulu. But these teams did not swap to play passively, as Meiko claimed first blood in an extended mid lane brawl.

iG dove two lanes at once, T1 came back on the map to take a dragon fight. T1 ganked TheShy, iG brought reinforcements for a round 2 of that fight, T1 called even more people to answer that fight.

The whole game went that way, with T1’s ability to pick fights from anywhere with Ornn, Ashe and Nocturne terrorizing any isolated member of the LPL representatives. And with Sylas, Ziggs, and Pantheon, iG kept looking to do just the same.

But all of these fights came down to execution. And Oner and Gumayusi were nothing short of monsters in this game. Oner kept surviving fights he had no right to live through, and Guma made Ashe’s ult look like a point-and-click ability.

Eventually, iG’s fate was sealed as Rookie missed the recast of a stolen Ornn ult. And the 19-minute teamfight that the LPL could have won resulted in a 4 for 2 for Korea. From that point on, there was no stopping T1’s aggression.

Onto the Swiss stage

With this match, T1 will play in the Swiss stage of Worlds! While Invictus Gaming are eliminated. And with 143 kills in 4 games, this tournament looks to be an awesome one.

Don’t forget to stick around, as the Swiss stage starts tomorrow! Check back for our Swiss stage preview and predictions. If you’re not familiar with the format, we explain the Worlds Swiss system here.

Featured image credit: Riot Games / LoLEsports via X (@lolesports)