The '2025 LCK Awards' were held on the 19th. It is an awards ceremony that re-examines players who have achieved notable results this year, but the controversy over the unclear selection criteria, which had been pointed out as a problem in the past, has flared up even more significantly this year. Starting with the 2022 awards, there was a trend of placing higher weight on the 'League of Legends World Championship', the biggest tournament, over the past two years, but this year, the performance of the major winners is particularly inconsistent.

First, it was explained that the 'Player of the Year' for each position was decided based on votes from an awards committee, excluding LCK players and coaching staff, based on their performance in the LCK regular season and international tournaments. The winners are 'Kiin' Kim Gi-in, 'Oner' Mun Hyeon-jun, 'Chovy' Jeong Ji-hun, 'Gumayusi' Lee Min-hyeong, and 'Keria' Ryu Min-seok. Critics have pointed out that it is difficult to know what aspects were prioritized since each player showed their peak performance in different leagues.

'Player of the Year' was awarded to 'Bdd' Gwak Bo-seong. His performance this year was incredible, and the story of him leading inexperienced teammates from the bottom of the standings to show an underdog's rebellion was also compelling. While he possesses undeniable skill, he did not lift a single championship trophy this year. Furthermore, questions have been raised about whether it is appropriate for a player who did not even win 'Mid Laner of the Year' to be selected as the representative player of 2025.

Of course, even in established professional sports awards, winning a championship does not always influence the selection of 'Player of the Year'. However, the LCK Awards are being criticized for their lack of consistent standards every year. As this is an important ceremony to look back on the players' performances, there is a need to enhance transparency by clearly stating the criteria for candidates and winners starting next year.