T1 took down G2 Esports with a clean 3-0 to end Europe’s run today in the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational.
The reigning World Champions seemed to have their learned lesson after their shaky performance in the tournament so far. They barely won the best-of-five series against G2 Esports in their previous meet at 2024 MSI, leaving a lot of fans questioning the Korean giants’ adaptability in the current meta. But they stepped up on the day and put on a phenomenal performance to upset G2 Esports’ hopes for a second MSI title.
Coming into the contest with over 2.2 million viewers, G2 Esports were considered favorites after their impressive 3-0 wipe against Top Esports. Their silver scraps match was the highest-viewed match in the history of the international tournament, making fans look forward to their rematch today.
While the current meta favors unconventional picks, G2 Esports gave fans what they wanted. They chose spicy picks like Kha’Zix in the jungle, Caps took on LeBlanc, and BrokenBlade countered Zeus’ Camille pick with Jax. That’s where the story of game one changed, as Zeus’ Camille kept getting important kills to secure T1’s winning path. At the same time, Gumayusi’s 8/0/5 KDA flawless Kalista completely stopped G2 Esports’ assassin picks in their tracks.
The next game was a throwback to the earlier series between the two teams, where Caps kept securing solo kills against Faker. Caps’ Aurelian Sol was a menace to Faker’s iconic Azir, dealing the most damage in the match and keeping Faker away. But T1 didn’t worry at all. Instead, they focused their sidelines on Gumayusi and Zeus to step up and carry the match.
While G2 Esports performed well, Faker’s late-game Azir slowly started to rack up kills in the mid-game and snatched the match with a cheeky backdoor finish to take the series to a match point.
BrokenBlade started the last match with a solo kill on Zeus to shut down their top lane and drive the series forward. T1 retaliated with a few kills, but they looked far more reserved and always kept the gap between the two teams at a minimum. When the match was neck-and-neck, T1’s vast experience on the international stage shone through, and they got a surprise pick-off in the mid lane to gain momentum and wrap the series with a great Baron play.
T1 has now extinguished the last hopes of the Eastern League of Legends teams, Team Liquid and G2 Esports, who were the first seeds in their regions. The road ahead for T1 remains full of first seeds, starting with BLG from China on May 18, 2024. The winner of that contest faces Korea’s first seed, Gen.G, to claim the 2024 MSI title.
