5 Takeaways from MSI 2025 Playoffs Round 1

The first round of the MSI 2025 Playoffs had it all — occasional stomps, nail-biting finishes, and even some unexpected shockers. One team even picked up the first pentakill of the tournament. With four teams fighting for survival in the lower bracket and the top four continuing their run in the upper one, here are five big takeaways as we head into MSI 2025 Playoffs Round 2.

MSI 2025 Playoffs Round 1 – five points of discussion

1. LCK and LPL are still the Top Regions

The top two teams from the LCK (Gen.G, T1) and LPL (AL, BLG) have all defeated their respective opponents in the opening best-of-five series. Even though no team was able to get a clean 3-0 victory, all the Eastern teams have shown more consistency and a stronger ability to punish the opponents every time an opportunity was presented to them. Now, however, they will have to face each other in Round 2, and there might be some surprises there.

2. The West is Closing the Gap

We probably set the expectations too high going into the tournament and our Pick’Ems after what happened at First Stand, but despite all Western teams (G2, MKOI, and FLY) losing, each one of them proved that the Eastern teams are not as unbeatable as they once were. It may not happen as often as people would like, but all three teams getting one game in a Bo5 is more than an encouraging sign.

The Fearless Draft and the reliance on players’ ability to pilot a large pool of champions means more volatility but also more chances for the West to make the upset. Before each gets their rematch, they will now have to fight in the lower bracket among themselves.

3. CFO is not a Dark Horse, it’s a Proper Threat

The series between CFO and T1 was probably the most unexpected of the four. Initially predicting quite a one-sided series, CFO was almost able to take down the 2024 World champions with confidence. They weren’t capitalizing solely on the enemies’ mistakes, but they were consistently finding great fights and chances to punish their opponents. Bonus point for them for taking the first pentakill of the tournament (Doggo on Caitlyn).

It’s not a good sign for MKOI, as this matchup could be much tougher as the two teams face elimination.

4. Twisted Fate is a Bait Pick?

The champion was recently buffed, yet it hasn’t been able to win one game out of the five times it has been picked. With 28 bans, it’s the highest priority champion at MSI so far, gapping both second-place Gwen and third-place Azir in terms of prio. Will that continue to be a trend in the following rounds? As long as teams are ready and come up with answers, it feels like it might be the case.

5. Consistency is Key

The main takeaway from the MSI tournament is that it’s all about finding consistency with different drafts. Teams that have solid fundamentals and are able to constantly figure out how to play their macro game are set for success at MSI. Eastern teams have shown they can mess up drafts (still unclear what T1 were thinking in Game 3 against CFO), but in the end, they are just able to play the game under pressure and step up when needed.

MSI action continues tonight with G2 against FLY, starting at 21:00 CET, followed by Gen.G vs AL.