World Championship 2025 FLY Preview: The Mantle of Western Hope Shifts
In the last two years, FlyQuest has continued to improve and become the Western hope. At the 2024 World Championship, they almost took down GenG Esports after getting a favorable draw in the Swiss Stage. They reaffirmed their position as the best in the West by defeating G2 Esports 3-0 at MSI this year. They followed that up with another close series, this time losing to Bilibili Gaming 3-2. The roster has high expectations. Can they become the first Western team to make it further than the Quarterfinals for the first time since the 2020 World Championship?
FlyQuest Roster
- Gabriël “Bwipo” Rau – Belgian Top Laner
- Ibrahim “GaKGos” Samet Bulut – Turkish Top Laner
- Kacper “Inspired” Słoma – Polish Jungler
- Song “Quad” Soo-hyung – Korean Midlaner
- Fahad “Massu” Abdulmalek – Canadian Bot Laner
- Alan “Busio” Cwalina – American Support
- Erlend “Nukeduck” Våtevik Holm – Norwegian Head Coach
FlyQuest retained the same roster that ascended to the top in the West in 2024. They added GaKGos to the roster during Split 2, but he would make his first appearance in Split 3. Drama surrounds the roster in the form of their top laner, Bwipo. During one of his livestreams, he made insensitive comments about how women’s periods were the reason for their struggles in Esports. After the clip went viral, he got significant backlash from the community. Still, he only suffered a one-series suspension, docking of his prize money, and a removal from the World Championship Music Video.
FlyQ’s Road to Worlds
Despite holding onto the same roster, FlyQuest slumped to third place in the LTA region during Split 1. They missed out on playing in the First Stand tournament. However, in Split 2, they would reascend to the throne and assert themselves as the best team in LTA North. They did so through two nail-biting 3-2 series victories over Cloud9 in the Upper Bracket and Grand Final. They were the only LTA North representative at MSI. They progressed the furthest out of all the Western teams at the international event, even defeating G2 3-0 in a dominant victory.
They qualified for the Bracket Stage at EWC but were swiftly knocked out by GenG in the Quarterfinals. Upon returning to the LTA, they had to deal with an unorthodox format. FLY conquered the new format. They only lost two games en route to the World Championship and LTA Championship Qualification. At the LTA Championship, they dispatched of Vivo Keyd Stars to earn the LTA first seed.
Quad’s Weaknesses May Prove Costly
Domestically, Quad is one of the best mid laners in LTA. However, at international competitions, he struggles to compete with the best. Their series against G2 at MSI was an example of this. While the rest of the team managed to earn advantages in their lanes, Quad was always considerably behind G2’s mid laner, Caps. His shallow champion pool and weaknesses in the laning phase are targets for other teams to exploit. His lack of progression in this regard during his time on FLY is a concern. It is unlikely that he will improve dramatically in this aspect. If he manages to shore up his mistakes, FLY will become a true force to be reckoned with.
Cementing Themselves as the West’s Best
They managed to defeat G2 in their previous Best of Five series against the LEC Champions. However, since then, G2 has improved and will be hungry to retake their mantle of the best Western team. At the previous World Championship, we did not see any NA Versus EU matchups, and fans will hope that does not happen this year. With only seven LCK and LPL teams in the World Championship Swiss Stage this year, more chances have arisen for teams to take those spots. If they can advance further than any other Western team, they will have secured the mantle of Best of the West.
Expectations
Anything short of a Bracket Stage appearance at the World Championship is a disappointment for this roster. Having come close to beating the LPL and LCK competition recently, they have to secure a spot in the Bracket Stage. Depending on their Quarterfinals opponent, they could make it to the semi-finals, but beyond that is a stretch.
Upcoming Journey
As the LTA Championship winners, FLY begins the Swiss Stage of the World Championship in Pool 1. Their potential opponents are: KT Rolster/Top Esports (depending on Play-In result), T1/Invictus Gaming (depending on Play-In result), Fnatic, and PSG Talon.
