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| (Image Source: One More Game PH/Honor Of Kings eSports) |
Homebois x Black Shrew Esport (HBSE) has been crowned the winner of the 2025 Honor of Kings International Championship (KIC2025), earning both the coveted championship title and the lion’s share of the US$1,000,000 prize pool. The top international championship for the 2025 Honor of Kings season saw participation from the top 16 sides across the globe and created history as the most popular tournament in Honor of Kings eSports.
After two weeks of action held across two different venues in the Philippines, KIC2025 concluded last November 30, 2025 at Ayala Malls Manila Bay where HBSE went head-to-head with NOVA eSports in a live grand final showdown, taking a 4–0 dominated victory in front of thousands of fans. GuiYu is selected as FMVP for his performance in the Grand Finals and also awarded an FMVP exclusive skin which will immortalize their victory in-game forever. HBSE and NOVA eSports, along with third place finisher Alpha Gaming, will be competing in the 2025 Honor of Kings Challenger Cup in China which officially kicked off last December 6, 2025 and will run until January 2, 2026. Additionally, Honor of Queens shined at KIC2025, featuring a total prize pool of $5,400, where AG Global captured the championship title after conquering over Cosmic University in the grand final. The KIC2025 grand final eventually became the tournament's most popular match with 696,262 Peak Viewers (PV) according to eSports Charts, setting a new record for HoK eSports, beating the previous mark set at the inaugural Honor of Kings World Cup 2025 by around 6.6%, due to its massive promotion on Facebook. As a result of this spike in viewership on the final day, multiple languages reached new Honor of Kings eSports records including English (175,351 PV), Tagalog (148,101 PV), Indonesian (139,277 PV), Arabic (63,617 PV), and Spanish (39,722 PV). These also make KIC2025 one of just three events in Honor of Kings to breach the 3 million Hours Watched (HW) mark with the HoK x eSports World Cup 2025 topping the list and the 2024 World Championship taking the third spot.
Apart from the main stage, KIC2025 featured the newly added Mini Battle game mode which provided grassroots players with a lower-threshold competitive stage, having attracted over 1,000 players to participate with a cumulative total of more than 1,500 matches. On the other hand, gaming and eSports fans were also treated to a special performance by SB19, the internationally acclaimed Filipino pop group, who sang the tournament soundtrack Burn The Flame. The song reached #1 on iTunes’ Top Songs and Top Albums charts in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Cambodia, with both its English and Taglish versions topping the charts. The track highlights the passion that drives eSports players on their journey to the top. Fans in attendance also got to experience the HOK Carnival activation which allowed them to obtain exclusive Honor of Kings merchandise.
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| (Image Source: One More Game PH/Honor Of Kings eSports) |
The 2026 Honor Of Kings Global eSports Roadmap
The 2026 Honor of Kings eSports program is set to be bigger and bolder than ever before, kicking off the season with the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 4, followed by the Honor of Kings Regional Pro Leagues Spring and the Honor of Kings Nation Clash. In the summer, Honor of Kings will return to the eSports World Cup with the Honor of Kings World Cup. The year will then shift into the Honor of Kings Regional Pro Leagues Fall and finally build toward the prestigious 2026 Honor of Kings International Championship. Additionally, the Honor of Queens Tournament, HOK women’s grassroots series, will make its much-anticipated return in 2026, further expanding the competitive landscape.
In-Game Honor
Building on its commitment to celebrating champion teams in-game, Honor of Kings will introduce an expanded selection of exclusive rewards for tournament winners in 2026. Champions across major events will receive unique in-game honors including:
• A Special Skin Carved in Indonesian Culture will be launched during Honor of Kings Invitational Season 4 (KIS4)
• Honor of Kings Regional Leagues – Spring: IKL/MKL/PKL Champion Team–themed Flowborn Outfit
• Honor of Kings Nation Clash: Champion Region–customised Flowborn Outfit
• KWC at EWC 2026: KWC Exclusive Skin
• Honor of Kings Regional Leagues – Fall: IKL/MKL/PKL Champion Team–themed Flowborn Outfit
• Honor of Kings International Championship (KIC2026): KIC eSports Skin and FMVP Exclusive Skin
(With words by Ravi Iyer, eSports Charts)
