Our top underdog teams and players to watch at LoL Worlds 2025
Fans around the world are excited for the opening of LoL Worlds 2025, and while heavy favorites Gen.G and T1 are getting most of the attention going in, it’s the top underdog teams and players that have our eyes as the best and most interesting to watch.
Any time a large-scale tournament like Worlds come around, most fans gravitate towards the presumptive favorites, expecting them to dominate. But it’s the underdog teams and players who rise to the occasion, create unexpected upsets, and deliver to fans the excitement that makes high-level League of Legends so fascinating.
Worlds 2025 has 17 teams competing for a chance to lift the trophy. While the T1 and Gen.Gs are indeed the favorites to win, fans should keep an eye on a handful of underdog teams and their players, as any one of these sides could upend even the heaviest LoL betting favorites.
Anyone’s Legend (Outright odds – 8.5)
- Players to watch: Shanks (mid), Flandre (top)
Source: Anyone’s Legend
Anyone’s Legend is one of the strongest underdog picks at LoL Worlds 2025, primarily because of the team’s stellar performance in its two most recent international appearances. The team finished third at MSI 2025 and then somehow improved upon that impressive result by finishing second at the Esports World Cup, even surpassing Worlds favorite and two-time defending Worlds champion T1.
AL has a handful of strong players who have already showcased their skills at the very highest levels of play. Shanks stands out for being an extremely strong mid laner who has successfully found advantages against even the best opposition. Then there’s the veteran top laner Flandre, who has been playing at the game’s pro level for a decade and has already successfully won a Worlds trophy with EDward Gaming in 2021. This combination of skill and experience could propel Anyone’s Legend to greater heights at this tournament than most expect from the gritty underdog.
G2 Esports (Outright odds – 25)
- Players to watch: Caps (mid), Hans Sama (ADC)
Source: G2 Esports
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the European League of Legends scene has been in a bit of a drought in recent years, at least when it comes to international play. 2025 turned that around by some measure when Karmine Corp reached the First Stand 2025 grand final unexpectedly, but it was a sordid route taken to that final and KC didn’t acquit itself terribly well once there.
G2’s appearance in the top four at the Esports World Cup among powerhouse opposition was arguably the more impressive achievement, and its certainly more relevant to Worlds this year given that KC wasn’t able to qualify.
G2 Esports went on to dominate the following LEC split, winning it without dropping a single match. Caps is easily the most prominent player on this team, but G2 ADC Hans Sama has showcased immense recent growth this season. The European team may have a real chance of making waves and producing a few upsets if it can get things together and play to the best of its abilities.
CTBC Flying Oyster (Outright odds – 35)
- Players to watch: HongQ (mid), Doggo (ADC)
Source: CFO
CTBC Flying Oyster may be an underdog going into this tournament, but the team has impressed fans multiple times this year already. The side generally uncontested in the LCP, standing out well above other teams in the region. This led CFO to appear in three international tournaments this year, and it has been consistently competitive in those global affairs.
HongQ and Doggo are the team’s best players to watch at Worlds 2025, primarily and much of that reputation is owed to their performance at the Mid-Season Invitational earlier in the year. It was there that the team gave T1 a real run for its money, and its players are more than capable of reaching the playoffs at Worlds this year despite their long odds if they are able to bring their peak form to the Worlds stage.
All listed outright odds via Stake @ October 13, 8:23 am ET
Feature image credit: LoL Esports
Hannan Mundia is a lifelong gamer. Don’t believe us? Just ask him. But don’t ask how many hours he’s spent playing. He’s been gaming since the age of three, and much of his live revolves around video games and the video game industry. Whether it’s a classic Legend of Zelda game from Nintendo, the newest Bethesda RPG, or something else entirely, you can bet that Hannan is ready and willing to play it.
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