Who Stood Out among the Best?
MSI Recap: MVPs of the Rumble
The best of the best have duked it out in the Mid-Season Invitational Rumble. After so many great plays and masterful calls, who truly stood out?
We watched five days of the rollercoaster that was the MSI Rumble. We watched as G2 Esports soared to the skies only to crash and burn, barely recovering in time to snatch the third spot. We watched as Royal Never Give Up and T1 went blow for blow for the top spot, with the LPL team ending the contest first but losing the last head-to-head match. We watched as Evil Geniuses recovered the honor of the LCS and PSG Talon and Saigon Buffalo went down fighting. We watched many great plays deserving of the best teams in the world - and, finally, we watches as three players rose up to become the three best of the Rumble Stage.
3. RNG Xiaohu
Hold on, you may think. Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and Rasmus "caPs" Winther are in this tournament, and you give this to Xiaohu? Well, he earned it. He did not get the best of his rivals in every game RNG played with T1 and G2 Esports, but he was a big part of the games they won - and he was lot more consistent against everyone else. For all their amazing outplays, his rivals did not always show their best form. Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao was both a mechanical monster and quite consistent, delivering the kills for RNG in game after game.
2. T1 Oner
In our Groups MVP coverage, we already mentioned Moon "Oner" Hyeon-joon as being the MVP of his team - and he has continued to deliver for the LCK champions throughout the Rumble stage. After their near-perfect spring season,T1 had a rough awakening as first G2 Esports and then Royals Never Give up and Evil Geniuses scored wins against them. However, the LCK Champions end the Rumble in second place, just a game behind RNG and Oner is a big part of their success. He terrorized the Rift on Lee Sin and remained a powerhouse on any other champion he picked. Oner dominated the jungle in the LCK and he intends to do the same at MSI.
1. RNG GALA
Chen "GALA" Wei was a monster in the group stage, scoring two Pentakills in nine matches. In the Rumble, facing some of the best AD carries in the world, he was much the same. He was a dominant player in the lane, clutch in teamfights, and remained the greatest weapon RNG had. He is crucial to his team and they trust him to carry game after game. For his part, he has not let them down yet, and we don't expect him to start doing it now. In a region as famous for bot laners as the LPL is, GALA is writing his own legend as we speak.
Read More:
- Everything You Need to Know For MSI 2022
- The MVPs of the MSI Group Stage
- MSI Recap: Royal Never Give Up Win the Rumble
The Mid-Season Invitational continues on Friday as LPL champions and Rumble first seeds Royal Never Give up take on NA's Evil Geniuses. Will the 2021 champions go on to defend their crown in the final or would EG achieve their biggest win yet?