KOI vs BDS LEC Winter 2025 Playoffs Preview: My Match Of The Week

For my personal LEC fixture of the week, BDS will have to face KOI this Sunday at 6 PM CET. A reminder that for the first time in EMEA, all matches will be played in Hard Fearless Draft mode for the Winter playoffs only. A closer look.

After three weeks of Regular Season, every LEC team has already showcased a glimpse of their shape coming into 2025. For two of them – Rogue and SK Gaming – it’s already time for vacations as we’ll get to see them perform again in 2 months, for the start of the Spring Split. But the players and staffs in the region never stop reminding us: these first 9 games aren’t of much interest if it is for both eliminated teams. For others, it’s now time for the real deal.

Even seeding is not important at all, it is just a matter of winning as many matches as possible to lift the trophy and attend the first edition of First Stand, the new international event with the champions of every major league. Just like their nemesis KC, KOI went 3-0 in the second week before slowing down their pace for the third, with a 1-2 finish (4th place in regular season with a 6-3 overall record). At the other end of the table, BDS had to struggle to make the play-offs, which was no easy task after their 0-3 second week. However, they made a much better impression in week three, even beating Karmine Corp in a 29 minutes fashion (7th place in the regular season with a 4-5 overall record).

First real test for Jojopyun in the LEC

First things first, I think it’s the hardest matchup to gauge for this week-end. On paper, it’s the fourth against the seventh which give the obvious edge to KOI. But when you dig a little deeper, even on raw results so far, KOI only lost to KC during the first two weeks of competition. BDS just beat KC to close their regular season. KOI lost to G2 Esports while BDS made them fall in the first week. It wasn’t the best version of KC neither the best version of G2 that BDS faced. But all in all, there’s a strong case to be made for BDS and just by looking at their latest form: the Swiss organisation simply looked sharper than KOI in the third week of competition.

In terms of growth over the regular season, they for sure made a better job than KOI who struggled to end a game against Heretics, and got obliterated by G2 lately. The problems that started occurring within KOI mainly seemed to rely on both carries. In my opinion, David “Supa” Martinez was looking fine in the first two weeks but the last one was a disaster. Those duokills from G2 botlane, that suspicious dash in with Ezreal against Heretics… He costed a lot to his teammates. And when it comes to Joseph “Jojopyun” Pyun, I have to admit I was expecting much more from him. Where is the laning master that destroyed the laning phase anytime he could in NA? Where is the clutch machine that could takeover games on his own?

Way too early to ring the alarm bell, but with those 9 samples we got so far I feel like he has been disappointing on an individual scope. The statistics back up my take.

Out of the ten midlaners he has been: 7th in KDA, 6th in CS/Min, 7th in DMG/Min, 9th in Kill Participation, and 9th in Deaths. In front of him this Sunday he will have the man that stands right behind the top 2 of EU midlaners in recent history: Ilias “nuc” Bizriken.

I am very impressed by the BDS midlaner’s growth in the past few years. Anyone can judge by his clutch performances and consistency that 2025 could well be the year when he reaches maturity. In most of the stats I listed for Jojo, he is already proving to be a step above the NA newcomer – despite his team’s struggles to qualify for play-offs: 3rd in KDA, 7th in CS/Min, 2nd in DMG/Min, 1st in Kill Participation, and 3rd in Deaths. nuc has been doing it all for his team, and his synergy with Doğukan “113” Balcı has been the key to BDS success so far.

In the end, I still think Jojopyun is more creative than nuc and might cook some stuff to surprise him coming into this series. And he better do it because if he can’t get over nuc – which currently is the gate keeper of midlane’s top three in Europe – then the promise that he would be contesting the top spot of the midlane in the Old Continent falls through very early on.

My Final Thoughts on the KOI vs BDS series

I am very hyped about this match, mainly because there are promising matchups all around. I think Parus has still a lot to prove after a back and forth regular season and he’ll face a support that proved himself as one of the best in the region. In the jungle, 113 aggressivity and boldness against the experience and composure of Elyoya will be a must watch.

And last but not least, I am so excited about watching Myrwn perform in Fearless Draft… Be ready, it might rain flex picks all over the LEC studio – if the lane swaps gods spare us. I still believe KOI has much more experience together as a group, much more automatics, and it might turn the tables in their favour. So I’d say KOI will take it in the end: 2-1.