It’s been a long wait without competitive League of Legends action. With MSI now here, we’re finally ready to strap back in.
We start off with Group Stage action. Six action-packed days of League of Legends action. Day one starts off with T1 facing off against SGB, while later in the day will see our first EU v NA matchup. With six games a day in the Group Stage, there’s a lot of action to recap, so let’s get right into it.
MSI – T1 v SAIGON BUFFALO ESPORTS
A big first blood came over for SGB, though T1 was able to get one back. With both ADCs falling, no one was able to take advantage of the early kills. A surprising double-kill in the bottom lane as SGB once again got the better of the T1 bottom lane. T1 started to gain some momentum in the mid-lane, with Oner picking up multiple kills. However, the bot-lane was still in favor of SGB, with Shogun picking up five kills. The first 5v5 ends in two kills going over to T1, as the local side finally carves out an advantage in the 19th-minute. With Baron up, T1 pushed for a fight to secure the buff. While SGB tried, T1 was ultimately too strong as they claimed five kills and a Baron. Despite some early plays going their way, SGB couldn’t hold off T1 once they got ahead.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: T1 – SGB
- Time: 26:57
- Kills: 23-11
- Turrets: 10-1
- Gold: 55.7k – 44.5k
- Dragons: 2-1
- Barons: 1-0
MSI -Team Aze v DetonatioN FocusMe
First blood was secured by DFM, who quickly turned that into two more kills on the bot-side. By the 8th-minute, DFM had a 3k lead as AZE looked on the back foot. The next 8-minutes saw the game slow down a tad. While DFM remained in a 3k lead, DFM hadn’t closed this game out just yet. With Baron easily secured by DFM, they topped it off with an ace as they looked to end the game. With all members of AZE stuck respawning, DFM was able to take down the respawning members as they secured a win. While DFM looked on shakey ground at the start, they ended up making it look easy in the end.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: AZE – DFM
- Time: 26:26
- Kills: 2-8
- Turrets: 2-5
- Gold: 39.3k – 45k
- Dragons: 2-2
- Barons: 0-1
MSI – Order v G2 Esports
First blood is secured by G2 in the mid-lane, as caPs was able to win a 1v1. ORD fired back on the top side of the map as they secured an easy 1v1. Despite remaining in the lead, G2 gave up a kill lead to ORD by the 11-minute mark as they looked to close the gap. G2 started the fightback, with a second Rift Herald, seeing the G2 gold lead extend to 3k. ORD pulled the trigger on an early Baron after getting a kill onto G2. However, with ORD stuck in the pit, G2 was able to steal it away and ace the ORD team. Baron allowed G2 to knock down the bot-side inhibitor of ORD, without giving up anything in return. G2 had extended their lead to 6k as they picked up Cloud Soul. ORD gave it their all, however, G2 had too much in the end as they picked up their first victory of MSI.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: ORD – G2
- Time: 26:06
- Kills: 9-10
- Turrets: 3-9
- Gold: 42.6k – 48.9k
- Dragons: 0-4
- Barons: 0-1
MSI – Evil Geniuses v G2 Esports
First blood for G2 in the mid-lane as caPs picked up an early lead. An early fight broke out at the Rift Herald, G2 managed to secure it alongside a 1k lead. By the 15-minute mark, G2 had extended their lead to just shy of 4k. G2 was able to sneak a Baron with EG too slow to react, with a kill traded after the fact. EG forced a fight at the Drake but G2 won the 4v4 as G2 pulled ahead with a 6k lead. With G2 able to secure the Soul Drake and Baron back on the Rift, EG was running out of options. The win is secured by G2 as they go 2-0 in the first day of MSI.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: EG – G2
- Time: 31:26
- Kills: 4-8
- Turrets: 5-8
- Gold: 50.2k – 60.6k
- Dragons: 1-4
- Barons: 0-2
MSI – fastPay Wildcasts v Royal Never Give Up
First blood is secured by RNG as they get an early lead. RNG maintained the lead into the 10-minute mark, moving to 3k ahead. RNGs lead continued to balloons as IW couldn’t find a way to get back into the match. With Baron soon on the map, RNG’s lead had grown to 10k as time ran out for IW. With Baron secured, the game was over for IW. With RNG able to break open the base, it was back to the drawing board as RNG claim a 22-minute victory.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: IW
- Time: 22:08
- Kills: 5-20
- Turrets: 1-9
- Gold: 34.2k – 47.9k
- Dragons: 0-3
- Barons: 0-1
MSI – RED Kalunga v PSG Talon
Quick Stats:
- Teams: RED – PSG
- Time:
- Kills:
- Turrets:
- Gold:
- Dragons:
- Barons:
