South Korea finished second and settled for silver, while host nation Estonia secured bronze after a dominant performance against China.
Korea Entered as Favourites – but Fell Short
Pre-tournament expectations pointed toward a tight battle for promotion between South Korea and Lithuania. The Koreans were considered slight favourites, especially since Lithuania was missing its star goaltender Mantas Armalis. Despite that, the Baltic nation had the last laugh.
South Korea started strong, notching comfortable wins over Croatia, Spain, and Estonia, but once again had to battle hard to edge regional rival China. However, their offense completely dried up in the decisive game against Lithuania, where they were stifled and defeated with authority.
| 2025 IIHF World Championship Division I Group B, Tallinn | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | TEAM | RESULTS | G | P |
| 1 | 🥇Lithuania | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14:3 | 14 |
| 2 | 🥈South Korea | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21:11 | 12 |
| 3 | 🥉Estonia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19:9 | 9 |
| 4 | China | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9:14 | 5 |
| 5 | Spain | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9:25 | 3 |
| 6 | Croatia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9:19 | 2 |
Lubys Steps Up as Lithuania’s Hero
In the absence of Armalis, few expected Laurynas Lubys to become the backbone of Lithuania’s run. The 22-year-old goalie, who plays in Norway’s second-tier league and had underwhelming regular-season numbers (5.26 GAA / 86.8 SV%), produced the performance of a lifetime. He was named Best Goaltender of the Tournament and was key to Lithuania’s flawless campaign.
Another standout for Lithuania was Mark Kaleinikovas, who plays his club hockey in Poland. He tallied 4 goals and 3 assists, providing crucial offense throughout the tournament.
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Veteran Captain Sang Wook Kim Shines for Korea
Korea’s standout was once again Sang Wook Kim, their experienced captain. He led the tournament in scoring with 8 points (3+5), though he surely would have traded that title for team success. Supporting him offensively were Yoon Seok Kang and Chongmin Lee.
One of the more surprising coaching decisions came in net: coach Woo Jae Kim gave the starting job to Jung Ho Ha, who had been a third-stringer behind Matt Dalton and Yeon Seung Lee at HL Anyang and hadn’t appeared in a single ALIH game all season.
Estonia Takes Bronze Under Rooba’s Lead
As expected, the bronze medal match was a showdown between Estonia and China. With the star player Robert Rooba leading the charge, Estonia looked sharp throughout the week and dominated China 5–0 in the medal decider – a wider margin than their 3–1 win last year.
Chen Stands Tall but China Runs Out of Gas
China started the tournament strongly, pushing both Lithuania and Korea to the brink but losing each game by a single goal. That emotional toll seemed to linger: they edged out Croatia in a tight contest, barely scraped past Spain in a shootout thanks to Yuyang Hou and Shifeng Chen, and then faltered completely against Estonia.
Goaltender Shifeng Chen was once again China’s top performer, taking full responsibility between the pipes after Zehao Sun’s retirement. Up front, Yuyang Hou remained a key contributor, while Juncheng Yan showed great leadership. On defense, rookie Renhan Xu impressed, but Pengfei Zhang, MVP of the Chinese league and the team’s top scorer at the Asian Winter Games, failed to make an impact this time around.
Croatia Relegated, Spain Survives Again
Croatia featured arguably the biggest name of the tournament in former NHL forward Borna Rendulic, and managed to trouble several of the group’s favourites. Despite their competitive spirit, it wasn’t enough to avoid relegation.
Spain, on the other hand, narrowly escaped the drop once again. Their survival came down to a dramatic overtime win against Croatia, sealed by tournament surprise Jaime Capillas, whose golden goal kept the Iberians in Division IB.
| 2025 IIHF World Championship Division 1B – Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Result |
| 26 April 2025 | China vs Lithuania | 0:1 |
| 26 April 2025 | Spain vs Estonia | 1:6 |
| 26 April 2025 | Croatia vs South Korea | 2:5 |
| 27 April 2025 | Lithuania vs Spain | 5:0 |
| 27 April 2025 | Estonia vs Croatia | 6:2 |
| 27 April 2025 | South Korea vs China | 2:1 |
| 29 April 2025 | South Korea vs Spain | 9:3 |
| 29 April 2025 | Croatia vs China | 3:4 |
| 29 April 2025 | Lithuania vs Estonia | 2:1 |
| 1 May 2025 | Lithuania vs Croatia | 2:1 OT |
| 1 May 2025 | Estonia vs South Korea | 1:4 |
| 1 May 2025 | China vs Spain | 4:3 GWS |
| 2 May 2025 | South Korea vs Lithuania | 1:4 |
| 2 May 2025 | Spain vs Croatia | 2:1 OT |
| 2 May 2025 | Estonia vs China | 5:0 |
Same Story Again for Team Korea, as Hopes Slip Away Late
South Korea entered the tournament with a clear goal: a swift return to Division I Group A. But for the third straight time this season – after disappointing finishes at the Asia Championship and Asian Winter Games – they stumbled at the final hurdle. Coach Woo Jae Kim must reflect on his squad’s inability to close out major tournaments after strong starts. Lithuania seems to be Korea’s nemesis, having spoiled their top division ambitions in 2019 as well.
| Team Korea at the 2025 IIHF World Championship Division 1B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | GP | G | A | P |
| Sang Wook Kim “C” | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Yoon Seok Kang | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Chongmin Lee “A” | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Jin Hui Ahn | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Sang Hoon Shin “A” | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Sangyeob Kim | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Geon Woo Kim | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jungwook Hong | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Min Wan Kang | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Yun Suk Lee | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Si Hwan Kim | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Hee Doo Nam | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Seung Jae Lee | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| In Gyo Oh | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Yoonho Chung | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Won-Jun Kim | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Yu Chan Kong | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Min Jae Lee | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hyun Seung Lee | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jung Woo Jeon | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goaltenders | ||||
| NAME | GP | GAA | SVS | WIN |
| Jung Ho Ha | 5 | 2,20 | 88,7 | 4 |
| Yeon Seung Lee | 0 | – | – | |
Depth Concerns Undermine China’s Medal Hopes
China, meanwhile, hoped to play dark horse and snatch a medal. While they showed flashes of quality, particularly in the early going, they lacked the consistency and depth needed to compete over a full tournament. Their 2025 record mirrors 2024’s: two wins, three losses, and a –5 goal differential. It’s clear that China needs greater depth to survive the rigours of modern international hockey — relying on just three forward lines is no longer enough.
| Team China at the 2025 IIHF World Championship Division 1B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | GP | G | A | P |
| Yuyang Hou | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Renhan Xu | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Juncheng Yan | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Zesen Zhang “A” | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jilong Yu | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Jing Wang | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Yuyang Han “A” | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jianing Guo | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Pengfei Zhang | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ziqi Guo | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rao Fu | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Haomiao Wu | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jiahao Hu | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yixiang “Jason” Huang | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zhihao Li | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hanming Zong | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mingju Zheng | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zihao Liu | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ruinan Yan | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jiaqi Zhang “C” | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goaltenders | ||||
| NAME | GP | GAA | SVS | WIN |
| Shifeng Chen | 5 | 2,77 | 92,8 | 2 |
| Haoran Hu | 0 | – | – | – |
| Peng Gao | 0 | – | – | – |
Looking Ahead to 2026 IIHF World Championship Divison 1B
Next year’s Division IB will include South Korea, Estonia, China, and Spain, along with newly relegated Romania, who dropped down from Division 1A, and the winner of the Division 2A tournament between Serbia and the Netherlands. Korea and Romania are likely favourites for promotion, though Estonia could be a serious threat. China will once again aim for a podium finish.
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