MSI Recap: RNG and T1 Sweep Their Way to the Finals

Evil Geniuses and G2 Esports were swept by RNG and T1 in the semifinals, making way for another LPL-LCK showdown in the Mid-Season Invitational Final. While both Western teams had moments that gave their fans hope, they looked heavily outmatched by their opponents.

After the top 6 teams at the Mid-Season Invitational duked it out in the Rumble, it was time to move to best of 5 matches and see how the best teams faced off against each other. As first seed, Royal Never Give Up chose Evil Geniuses as their opponents. This left T1 to face off against G2 Esports, adding yet another chapter to their rivalry. The Asian teams came into these matches as heavy favorites, but would their Western rivals manage to score an upset?

RNG Avoids Surprises against Evil Geniuses

LPL Champions Royal Never Give Up finished in first place in the Rumble which gave them the right to choose their opponent between Evil Geniuses and G2 Esports. They went with the LCS champions and in the first game, it seemed like a good bet - the Chinese team overpowered their opponents early and outplayed them in teamfights to score an easy first blood in the series.

Game two started in a similar way, but then EG showed that they were not that easy to push around and equalized the game with some great charms from Joseph Joon "jojopyun" Pyun on Ahri. It turned into a very competitive game with RNG nearly getting aced after a flashy Baron steal left them overextended, but in the end, they had the last laugh, acing EG in their jungle to go to match point.

The LPL champions would once more defeat EG in the early game, but several positioning mistakes kept the NA team close and eventually they even got an ace and a Baron. RNG secured the Hextech Soul, however, and while the two teams continued brawling for over 40 minutes, eventually they got the upper hand and won their finals spot.

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T1 Sweeps G2 Esports

On Saturday, the Korean crowd got to see T1's long awaited showdown with G2 Esports, a team that had humbled them twice before. The LCK champions had a strong first game,  getting early kills and picking G2 apart on the map. The LEC champions saw their first inhibitor go down before the 20-minute mark, and an early baron going for T1 sealed the deal.

After the break, the two teams had a more competitive game - T1 still had a lead, but the game looked close until Busan erupted in cheers as the Korean team got an ace and the Baron. Now with a big lead, T1 was unstoppable and ended the game shortly after. The next game was brutally one-sided after two early skirmishes went their way, leading to a 20-minute victory and a clean sweep as T1 got their much-awaited revenge.

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After these decisive victories, RNG and T1 will face off in the MSI Grand Final, starting from 10 AM CEST on Sunday, May 29th. Don't miss it!