Honor of Kings World Championship Games: SEA Qualifier Draw Revealed
The Honor of Kings World Championship Games (WCG) SEA qualifier bracket has been drawn, and the road to the global finals in Shenzhen runs through a stacked regional gauntlet. Eight teams across four Southeast Asian countries will compete for three coveted spots at the World Championship Games, scheduled for August 2025.
The bracket draw, announced by TiMi Esports during a livestream event, places Filipino powerhouse Blacklist International on the opposite side of the bracket from Indonesian heavyweights EVOS Legends — setting up a potential grand final clash that fans have been calling for since both organizations committed to Honor of Kings competitive play last year.
Blacklist International's Honor of Kings division has been building quietly but effectively. The organization recruited several former Mobile Legends pros who transitioned to HoK during its SEA launch period, including former world champion OhMyV33nus in a coaching role. Their roster features Hadji in the mid lane and OHEB as the team's primary carry, both bringing the game sense and mechanical precision that made them MLBB champions.
EVOS Legends, meanwhile, assembled an entirely new roster specifically for Honor of Kings. The Indonesian organization signed three players from the Chinese semi-pro circuit who bring firsthand knowledge of the Chinese meta — a significant advantage given that China remains the game's dominant region. Their practice regimen reportedly mirrors Chinese training schedules, with 10-hour daily scrim blocks that have become the norm in HoK's home market.
The other qualified teams add depth to the bracket. Thailand's Bacon Time, a veteran MOBA esports organization, fields a roster that has been competing in HoK since the game's soft launch in the region. Malaysia's Todak HoK and Singapore's RSG represent their respective countries, with RSG's cross-game infrastructure giving them a logistical edge in bootcamp preparation.
The qualifier format is a double-elimination bracket played over two weekends. All matches are best-of-five, with the grand final extending to best-of-seven. The top three teams earn World Championship Games berths, while the fourth-place finisher enters a last-chance qualifier against teams from other developing regions.
TiMi Esports has set the total qualifier prize pool at $200,000, with the champion taking home $80,000. But the real prize is the World Championship Games itself, where the global prize pool is expected to exceed $5 million — a figure that would make it one of the largest single-event prize pools in mobile esports history.
Industry analysts see the WCG SEA qualifier as a critical test of Honor of Kings' competitive viability outside China. The game has grown rapidly since its international launch, with SEA representing its second-largest player base. However, the competitive scene is still maturing, and the quality of play at this qualifier will signal whether SEA teams can realistically challenge Chinese and Korean squads at the world championship.
"This is the moment Honor of Kings esports either takes off in SEA or stays a second-tier title," said esports commentator Rex Kantatero during a recent podcast. "The organizations investing in this game need to see returns, and those returns start with strong international performances."
Broadcasts will be available in English, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, and Filipino on the Honor of Kings Esports YouTube and TikTok channels. The first qualifier weekend begins April 19, with the final bracket concluding on April 27.