The LCP 2025 Season Finals Playoffs are underway, and there are two familiar teams already qualified for Worlds: PSG Talon and CTBC Flying Oyster. That means there is one LCP spot left to claim.
It is Japan’s first Worlds miss since 2016. With Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS out of the playoffs, DetonatioN FocusMe were the last hope, but a 1-3 lower-bracket defeat to MGN Vikings Esports confirmed the region’s absence in 2025.
Growing pains
Japan has not produced many deep runs at Worlds, but the local player base is growing. OP.GG-tracked numbers reported by TheGamer put the current ranked population on the Japan server at about 260,000, up from roughly 85,000 in 2022.
In 2025 Riot moved APAC into a single top-tier league, the League of Legends Championship Pacific. The LJL now operates below the LCP as Japan’s domestic league, and LCP is the sole route to Worlds from the region.
Japanese teams must battle through LCP opponents from Vietnam and the former PCS footprint, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Oceania, instead of qualifying directly as in earlier years. In 2024, LJL teams already had to run through PCS playoffs before this full 2025 shift.
So far seven teams have qualified for Worlds, all of which you can find in our complete Worlds 2025 guide.
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