MSI 2025 Day 13 Preview: AL Aims to Stop LCK Dominance
The LCK has been victorious in the previous four international events. The last time an LPL team won was at MSI 2023 when JDG defeated BLG in the Grand Final. Anyone’s Legend must beat two LCK teams to prevent another title for the Korean teams. First, they face off against the LCK second seed, T1, in the Lower Bracket Final.
MSI Day Thirteen Schedule
The Lower Bracket Final match begins at 5:00 pm PT (2:00 am CET, July 12th).
Rookie Versus Veteran
Shanks has been in the LPL since 2020. However, he has been on teams that struggle to compete in the upper echelon. MSI 2025 marks his first international appearance. While many expected him to struggle, he has outshone all the other mid laners at this tournament, even Chovy. Now he faces off against Faker, the player with the most international experience. Shanks will need to keep up his form to garner leads for AL. Faker has looked shaky for T1, but no one can question his potential for clutch moments. Shutting down Shanks is imperative for T1 to win the series.
Prediction
T1 3 – 2 Anyone’s Legend
Overall, the LCK has looked far throughout the year. The only team to match their level is AL. They took GenG Esports to game five and had the chance to win the series. T1 also pushed GenG to the limit. GenG looked stronger against T1 than they did against AL, so in that regard, T1 stands out as the favorites. Both teams dispatched of BLG 3-0.
T1’s macro and map movements seem superior to AL, but the LPL team can go toe to toe with any team during fights. One vital factor to note is Tarzan. The last time he played against T1, he was the cause of his downfall. Tarzan has been incredible at MSI and must not let the 2023 memories return. The series can go either way, but T1 has the slight edge.
How the Day Will Impact Proceedings
We move to the second-to-last day of MSI 2025. The loser of the series gets eliminated from the tournament, while the victor faces GenG in the Grand Final. Both teams are gunning for the rematch against the LCK first seed, so neither team should leave anything behind.
