LEC Winter Split Week 1 Takeaways: New Kingdoms Rise

The LEC has kicked off the new season with an exciting set of games on Week 1 of the 2025 LEC Winter Split. With Jojopyun and Caliste’s debut, the rise of new stars, and the fall of established titans, the first week of LEC action has not fallen short of delivering a fresh new look to the European League of Legends.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from Week 1 of the LEC Winter Split.

LEC Winter Split Week 1 Takeaways

GIANTX: A new Kingdom rises

Is that really GIANTX’s name next to that 3-0 record at the top of the league? GIANTX’s Regular Season finishes in the LEC in 2024 were 8th, 6th and 7th for the Winter, Spring and Summer splits, respectively. Though we may only be a week into the new season, seeing GIANTX at the top of the standings is a refreshing change of scenery.

Admittedly, the team's first two wins came against the struggling Rogue and SK Gaming. GIANTX's victory against Karmine Corp to close out the week, however, was an impressive display.

What's more, the former Fnatic duo of Noah and Jun, now on GIANTX, are looking like the best bot lane in the league at the time. While Noah was busy pumping out the damage on his way to topping the DPM charts for Week 1 (1033), Jun kept finding all the right engages to set his team up for success fight after fight. Meanwhile, now on his sophomore year in the LEC, Jackies continues to rise as one of the most exciting mid laners in Europe.

GIANTX look cohesive and without a clear weakness to start out the LEC Winter Split. The only question now is, can they keep this up?

G2 Esports: Beginning to crumble

On the other side of the same coin we have G2. The team that has ruled the LEC with an iron fist year in and year out got off to a 1-2 start after struggling to put up cohesive performances on the rift. Even in their win against SK Gaming, G2’s weak early game was in full display once more, even if Caps’ lore-accurate performance on Viktor managed to save the day.

Ever since the team joined the LEC back in 2016, G2 had never lost an opening game before. This time, they lost not just once, but twice to start the season. While it may be far too early to call the death of G2, the signs are certainly worrisome for a team that simply looked out of sorts, and ideas.

Brought in to replace Yike, SkewMond has done a respectable job commanding the G2 early game so far. The same cannot be said for Labrov, however. The young support player wasn't quite been able to partner up with SkewMond to command the map effectively enough for the team to convert their early leads into wins during Week 1. Until that happens, G2 will continue to struggle.

Caliste: The Real Deal

Karmine Corp’s 2-1 start to the season was not quite as stellar as it looks. The team’s two wins were anything but clean as KC often struggled to push their leads. The bright side for Karmine Corp, aside from a second place standing, is that Caliste looks every bit the player he was so fervently hyped up to be.

Despite his young age and lack of Tier-1 experience, Caliste dominated the LEC on his debut, finishing Week 1 of the Winter Split boasting the second highest damage per minute (DPM) in the league at 1032, as well as a staggering KDA of 32, the highest in the LEC. Across the three games Karmine Corp played over the course of Week 1, Caliste died only once.

It isn't all about the numbers, however. The French dynamo oozed confidence on his LEC debut, often walking up for solo plays, tossing ultimates and skillshots around like candy, and outplaying the opposition like a seasoned veteran. If you ever see Caliste on Varus walking up to your entire team, you might want to think twice before you dive in for a 'free' pick.

When your top side is composed of a Worlds semifinalist in Canna and a 7-time LEC champion in Yike, and the only thing anyone seems to be able to talk about is Caliste at the end of Week 1, then you know you've got something special in your hands as a KC fan.

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Image source: Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games

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