Teams to watch at the RLCS 2025 World Championship

The RLCS 2025 World Championship is only a couple of weeks away!

With multiple tournaments across seven regions, there's a good chance you haven't been able to keep up with every second of action this season.

Depending on the most recent tournament you watched, the competitive landscape may be completely different from when you last tuned into an RLCS broadcast.

There may be some familiar faces expected to do well at this season's Worlds, but even last week's Esports World Cup 2025 shifted many people's power rankings

Tournament favorites

Karmine Corp after their victory at EWC 2025

Karmine Corp

The only team to claim more than one S-tier trophy this season, with victories at the Birmingham Major and, most recently, the Esports World Cup.

With two-thirds of this year's major LANs under their belt, it's nearly impossible to argue for anyone besides KC as the #1 favorite for the RLCS 2025 World Championship title.

Team Falcons hoisting the RLCS Raleigh Major trophy

Team Falcons

However, it'd also be difficult to disagree with Team Falcons as a pick to win it all.

Thanks to their Raleigh Major victory, MENA's superstars actually have the same average placement (3.17) this year as KC, who only managed to reach Top 8 in North Carolina.

Unfortunately, stats also reveal that the Falcons are 0-4 against Le Blue Wall since late March 2024, so KC will be given the edge for the time being.

M0nkey M00n at the RLCS 2025 Birmingham Major

Vitality

Finally, despite a lack of silverware this season, only a fool would discount Team Vitality's star-studded roster as a serious contender for the RLCS 2025 Worlds title.

M0nkeyM00n alone has placed 1st, 2nd, and 1st at the last three consecutive World Championships.

If that run of form isn't intimidating enough, ExoTiiK was alongside him for the latest of those victories, and zen's MVP performance in Düsseldorf was the biggest obstacle keeping him from a three-peat.

In terms of Worlds-winning experience, no other competing roster comes close to Team Vitality.

Underdogs with upset potential

Geekay Esports walking out onstage

Geekay Esports

Geekay Esports is HOT right now.

After being eliminated Top 8 in Birmingham and failing to even qualify for Raleigh, they seemingly came out of nowhere for many fans as they took down many of the world's top teams on their way to a 2nd place finish at EWC 2025.

With the beloved Joyo and a team logo echoing pure nostalgia, it's easy to root for Europe's surprise representatives.

Ninjas in Pyjamas' nass

Ninjas in Pyjamas

Ninjas in Pyjamas could sneak up on unsuspecting opponents.

After just barely missing out on both RLCS 2025 Majors, this NIP squad finally got its break during the European LCQ, barreling through the likes of Gentle Mates, Team BDS, and even Hogan Mode to punch their ticket to the World Championship.

Toting a decent amount of LAN experience and a former World Champion in Radosin to boot, NIP is arguably the most fearsome team participating in the Playins.

FURIA and The Ultimates at EWC 2025 (Photo via EWC)

Furia & The Ultimates

FURIA and The Ultimates might find their form at any moment.

It's debatable to call these two teams "underdogs," considering the strength of their rosters on paper, but that simply has not been translating onto the field.

Whether it can be chalked up to the strength of their opponents or simply underperforming, neither squad has been achieving the results they're looking for in the past couple of LANs.

However, both The Ultimates and FURIA showed a flash of brilliance back in Birmingham, with a 2nd and Top 4 finish, respectively.

If they could just find their way back to that form, they'll be genuine contenders for a Worlds title in Lyon.

Test your ball knowledge

If you feel like you can predict exactly who's going to pop off RLCS 2025 World Championship, try out making some picks on BLAST's Fantasy page.

It's completely free to participate, you can win some cool swag for your profile, and see where you stack up within the community on the leaderboards.