Look Sports Media – The KeSPA Cup 2025, an annual pre-season League of Legends tournament hosted by the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA), is generating buzz for an unexpected reason: its exclusive broadcast deal with Disney+. This move marks another instance of mainstream media interest in Korean LoL, following the LCK finals’ broadcast on national television earlier this year.
The Disney+ partnership has ignited a wave of humorous reactions within the community. The combination of Disney’s family-friendly brand and the KeSPA Cup’s reputation as a less serious, pre-season event has led many to jokingly dub it an official "Mickey Mouse tournament."
Adding fuel to the fire, some fans have playfully suggested that the tournament will favor the Korean team Dplus Kia, implying that "Dplus" secretly stands for "Disney Plus." While the "D" in Dplus KIA actually originates from their predecessor, DAMWON Gaming, the coincidence proved too tempting for the community to resist.
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The KeSPA Cup 2025, scheduled for December 6-14, will feature all ten LCK teams, along with North American representatives Team Liquid and Cloud9 (C9), and invited squads from Japan and Vietnam. The tournament format includes preliminary best-of-one (Bo1) groups, followed by a best-of-three (Bo3) "breakout" stage for teams finishing second in their groups. The top six teams will then advance to a best-of-five (Bo5) playoff bracket.
The preliminary round, from December 6-8, will consist of three round-robin groups. Max "Atlus" Anderson and Wolf "Wolf" Schröder will provide English commentary for the event.
While the tournament offers valuable practice and exposure for participating Western teams, past KeSPA Cups have often seen teams fielding academy players rather than their full starting lineups. The question remains: will the Disney+ streaming deal attract greater participation from top-tier players? Only time (and Disney+) will tell.
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