Is the LCK the strongest region in LoL esports?

Korea (LCK) is considered the strongest region in League of Legends esports following Hanwha Life Esports‘ win at First Stand 2025.

Korean teams continue to excel in both domestic and international competitions, leaving fans to wonder how the other regions are faring in comparison.

Hanwha Life came out on top against LEC’s Karmine Corp in the inaugural First Stand 2025. Jungler Han ‘Peanut‘ Wang-ho commented how his team was playing ‘quite well’ throughout the tournament.

It’s the latest in a series of wins for one of the most-watched region in League of Legends 2025.

Hanwha Life Esports emerged victorious in its own region, overcoming Korean rivals T1 and Gen.G in the lower bracket run, then ending in a 3–2 win in the LCK Cup 2025 grand final match on February 27, 2025.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailings for LCK, as Hanwha was the only team from the region to qualify for the 2024 World Championship, where they faced early elimination.

But there’s no doubt that LCK’s standing and reputation within the League of Legends esports scene has seen a major boost in recent years — and 2025 seems to be the region’s year to shine.

This is in stark contrast to other regions, like North America, which have underperformed. Following Team Liquid’s early departure from First Stand 2025, Botlaner Sean ‘Yeon’ Sung commented that they ‘failed to show’ their ‘A-game.‘

The League of Legends global power rankings appear to reflect the LCK’s domination. The top three teams — Hanwha Life, T1 and Gen.G — are all Korean esports organisation.

As of March 17th, 2025, these are the current rankings of the top 10 League of Legends esports teams.

As China and Korea continue to dominate the competitive scene, other regions are increasingly seen as ‘Tier 2,’ striving to close the gap but still lacking the same level of consistency and dominance at the highest international level.