Since its last championship victory in the Summer of 2020, Top Esports had developed an unfortunate tendency to falter at the most critical moments in the playoffs. However, this Saturday, TES finally broke the curse, securing another trophy with a 3-1 victory over Anyone’s Legend in the LPL 2025 Split 1 Grand Final. In doing so, the team completed an impressive lower-bracket playoffs run, eliminating Invictus Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Bilibili Gaming, and JD Gaming in succession—each time by a 3-1 scoreline.

TES found itself in the lower bracket after finishing second in Group A... trailing behind AL. The first encounter between the two teams had favored the team of Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong, who once again fell short of capturing its first major league title. Three TES players were particularly instrumental in securing the championship. Wenbo “JackeyLove” Yu was the driving force behind his team’s victory in Game 1, with his Miss Fortune consistently positioning herself to unleash devastating ultimates. “JKL” also took on a leadership role in Game 4, where his Draven, despite a challenging early game, executed his teamfight responsibilities flawlessly.

No Hope

Bai “369” Jiahao was pivotal in TES’s final two victories. His Ambessa in Game 3 had far greater impact than Li “Flandre” Xuanjun’s Camille. More importantly, the toplaner consistently found key ultimates on Wang “Hope” Jie’s Ashe, AL’s primary threat. It was 369’s first ultimate onto Hope that swung the momentum in TES’s favor, setting up a perfect fight for his teammates. In Game 4, 369’s K’Sante proved to be a relentless nuisance for Anyone’s Legend, forcing the opposing carries to use their cooldowns on him—granting TES the space they needed to dominate teamfights.

Perhaps more subtly, Lin “Creme” Jian also delivered an exceptional performance in the final. Ironically, his standout moment may have come in TES’s sole defeat, where he masterfully piloted Aurora. In Game 3, Creme also created numerous opportunities with Sylas, stealing key ultimates and notably catching out Flandre on the botlane. In Game 4, his Hwei maintained a gold advantage over Cui “Shanks” Xiaojun’s Azir, despite the latter racking up multiple kills—largely due to Creme’s superior wave control and farming efficiency.

Beyond claiming the title, TES has also secured its place at First Stand, the year’s first international event, set to take place in Seoul, South Korea, from March 10 to 16. The tournament will feature the champions from the five major regions: LPL, LEC, LTA, LCK, and LCP. TES becomes the fourth team to qualify, joining Hanwha Life Esports (LCK), Team Liquid (LTA), and CTBC Flying Oyster (LCP). The final slot will be determined this Sunday at 6 p.m. CET, when G2 Esports faces off against the winner of the match between Fnatic and Karmine Corp in the LEC Winter Split grand final.