The Mid-Season Invitationalthe 2nd most important international event of the year of League of Legends. This not only establishes the division between spring split and summer split, but will also come to elect the strongest mid-season team among all the champions of the 4 major leagues and 7 minor leagues (LCL was barred from participating).
A few days ago we talked about the conclusion of the 1st phase, the group onebut now the games are getting very serious. Today the 2nd phase begins, the rumble stage. The 6 teams that emerged as winners from the groups will face each other in a double-robin challenge, all against all, and considering that there are three undefeated teams here, the expectations are very high. Who will have prevailed at the end of this first series of matches? Let’s find out together!
League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2022 – Day 7
T1 (0-0) vs G2 Esports (0-0)
We start with a very heartfelt rematch, especially in a scenario like MSI, the one between T1 and G2 Esports. T1 against their kryptonite, but this year they are the favorites of everything. Kalista for Flakked! Rell for Keria! T1s immediately take advantage of bots and… we expected it, mind you. This game is not good for G2. Only in map play the T1s accumulate an advantage of 5k in early, but it must be said that the G2s are not defeated by having Caps’ Yasuo as a safety measure (and any player can knock up in his favor). It’s a very tactical game, but teamfights break out in midgame.
The result is that soon the game becomes something absurd, a match worthy of at least a semifinal. BB brings out some incredible teamfighting skills and the G2s are monsters! I have never seen T1s in such trouble. NEVER! Teamfight after teamfight the G2s take the lead, they have a wombo-combo draft and BB and Targamas can give Flakked and Caps all the space they need. Eventually it happens. The G2 knock down the T1 !!! G2 BREAK DOWN T1 !!! G2 defeated Korea and are still unbeaten !!! So much for the “we’re aiming for the summer split!”
Evil Geniuses (0-0) vs Royal Never GiveUp (0-0)
At the 2nd game EG and RNG choose the path of violence, in contrast to the previous very tactical game. Impact and jojopyun play well while Wei and Xiaohu… well, it’s Wei and Xiaohu. The problem is that the EGs are committed to containing Bin in early, but these in midgame scale anyway, despite a very good Impact. Moving on to midgame the advantage of the RNG is simply too much. Wei and Xiaohu are light centuries ahead of their opponents and soon also climb GALA on Ezreal.
At that point the game is over and the EGs gradually lose ground. Honor to them because they do not give up until the end, also bringing out good performances despite the monetary gap, but in front of a major dragon Bin pulls out a decisive barrel combo (Jankos and Caps must have had visions of Vietnam here) and that’s enough for the RNG to seal a very convincing victory. RNG still undefeated!
PSG Talon (0-0) vs SaiGon Buffalo (0-0)
Third game and the two “minor leagues” of the rumble face each other. Froggy on Veigar and Taki on Rell, an undoubtedly interesting draft for SGB, but will it work? Froggy is also doing well, but the problem is the rest of the SGB being slaughtered across the board and all over Summoner’s Rift. Bay and Unified gain a simply overwhelming advantage and close every door to the game in the face of their opponents. In midgame, however, Froggy begins to put down incredible damage and above all absurd cages while the PSG fail to close.
The SGB are thus finally able to find the space to return to the game and one piece at a time they recover the disadvantage and then seal an absurd carnage that allows them to collect avalanches of bounties (and a baron). The fight is completely reversed and becomes very uncertain, but during the assault the SGB go into tunnelvision on an inhibitor tower and this allows the PSG to take them on the flank. Unified collects an avalanche of kill and shutdown while with a good combination of teleports and pushes his team seals the game. A sweaty victory, but always a victory for PSG.
G2 Esports (1-0) vs Royal Never GiveUp (1-0)
The fact that the first thing the G2s do in draft is ban Gangplank in Bin, it makes me laugh a lotalmost as much as seeing the RNGs ban the Targamas Pyke. But Wei on Lee Sin is monstrous, he manages to make a perfect insec with 35ms of ping and so he collects first blood on BB. The problem for RNGs is that Caps starts collecting kills on Zoe by abusing a risky towerdiving. Not that Xiaohu is outdone, but goodness, this match is already sensational! What happens next is something absurd.
The G2s close on their advantage and begin to build it progressively while the RNG try them all to get back into the game. All. Bin, Wei, Xiaohu and GALA brought out sensational performances, but Jankos, Caps and Flakked are not human, it is evident. They dodge every death, win every teamfight, even the most desperate, and in the end, in front of the dragon of the soul, they collect the carnage that allows them to seal a 2nd victory! THE G2 ARE STILL UNBEATEN!
SaiGon Buffalo (0-1) vs Evil Geniuses (0-1)
Finally one of these teams will have a win, but who will break away from the back? Taki today is not the same day and it shows. Despite a fairly limp start for Impact, soon the game of Inspired, jojopyun and Danny allows the EGs to take a good head start. Beanj still keeps the SGBs in the game with a fantastic performance, but all things are going according to the plan of the EGs that progressively take up resources.
Soon the SGBs completely lose control. They seem to have a lot of ideas, but all of them ugly or confusing. They give opportunities after opportunities to opponents who rightly take advantage of them. Impact is back in the game, the EGs climb and this is a victory that is as linear as it is insipid. Honestly, SGB are turning out to be a big disappointment in this rumble stage.
PSG Talon (1-0) vs T1 (0-1)
Last game of the day and the T1s clearly want to redeem a bad start. I’m almost sorry for PSG though they decide to leave Kalista in Gumayusi and I don’t find it a great idea, I’ll be honest. On the other hand, Hanabi, with a blind Kennen, finds himself in front of a Zeus on Irelia. Ok T1. The game, however, opens with a solokill of Zeus on Hanabi. I didn’t really understand this choice of PSG.
Nevertheless the early T1 is not perfect and sees them as aggressive as they are dirty. Beanj and Bay put out a good performance, but Zeus here is smurfing badly and the Oner / Faker combo does damage that makes no sense to exist. The PSGs close in shell looking for openings, but these are the T1s and they take every necessary objective and then proceed to suffocate the opponents. An easy win, easy for T1s, even if dirtier than expected.