On November 9, the grand final of the 2025 League of Legends World Championship (Worlds) will be held at the Dong’an Lake Sports Park Multi-Purpose Gymnasium in Chengdu, China. The defending champions T1, who have run the gauntlet all the way from the Play-In Stage, will face KT Rolster, the surprise package that defied all expectations to engineer this tournament’s biggest upset.

T1’s road to the Worlds final was anything but easy. Starting in the do-or-die Play-In Stage, T1 even found themselves on the brink in the Swiss Stage at 1–2. True to their reputation as the “LPL killer,” though, they clipped the wings of Invictus Gaming (Play-In), Anyone’s Legend (Quarterfinals), and Top Esports (Semifinals), knocking out an LPL team at every critical juncture to book their place in the final.

Now T1 meet long-time Telecom Rivalry foes KT Rolster in the championship match. Historically, T1 have usually had the upper hand in this matchup, but KT’s form this time around is nothing to scoff at. How is T1 preparing to defend their crown? Inven spoke with T1 head coach Kim Jeong-gyun via written interview to discuss the upcoming final.

“Starting from Play-Ins and making it all the way to the final has been incredibly tough,” Kim reflected. “But along the way our players have grown a great deal, and I feel the team has become even more solid. The schedule hasn’t been easy, but by staying locked in every match and doing what we needed to do, we’ve eventually turned that into a good result. As a coach, I’m thankful to the players and proud of them.”

Asked how he believes the team managed to reach the final through such a grueling stretch and so many obstacles, Kim said, “A lot happened to the team this year, but the players never wavered and they each did their jobs well. I think that was the biggest source of strength for us. Ultimately, T1 reached the final thanks to the individual efforts of the players and the teamwork built on trusting one another. If we want that to carry us to the title, it’s important we keep that going to the very end. We’ll stay focused, and we’ll do it our way.”

Regarding their opponents KT Rolster, he continued, “Matches against KT are always special. We’ve been rivals for a long time, and it’s a matchup fans always look forward to. Meeting in the final shows just how well both teams have played this season. Rather than treating it as a rivalry game, we’re preparing for it as a stage where we’ll give our all against a truly strong team right to the end.”

He added, “Of course we’ll be thorough in our prep on the opponent, but above all we’re focusing on a plan that maximizes our own strengths. We’re paying attention to everything from conditioning to mental readiness so the players can walk on stage in peak form.”

Finally, Kim shared his message to supporters: “So many people have cheered us on to this point. We’ll do our best to live up to those expectations. The result matters, of course, but more than anything we want to show everything we’ve prepared with no regrets. We’ll keep working so the players can play with confidence—and play the finals the T1 way.”

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.