The first series of the MSI 2022 Knockout Stage is over, and our first finalist of the tournament is revealed.
The first Semi-Finals series is done and dusted, and the reigning MSI champions Royal Never Give Up will be the first team to get a Finals spot. Evil Geniuses came into the series as heavy underdogs, and most fans and analysts were expecting a 3-0 score. Even though the expectation was met, EG manage to impress the audience, especially with their performances in the last two games of the series.
Unfortunately, the fight they put up wasn’t enough to overcome the powerhouse that is RNG. The underperformance of Impact and Danny certainly didn’t help either. But Inspired and Jojopyun put up a great showing.
On the RNG side, Xiaohu was definitely the difference-maker, particularly on his Lissandra flanks. With this victory, RNG will have a chance to repeat their success from last year and become the second team to win a back-to-back MSI title after SKT1. They will face the winner of the T1-G2 series in the Finals, which will take place on Sunday, May 29, 10:00 AM CET.
MSI 2022 Knockout Stage RNG – EG Game 1
As expected for RNG, they got a strong top side draft with Gwen-Jarvan, and drafted a roaming champion for Xiaohu. EG answered with Nocturne and Gankplank which were comfortable for Inspired and Impact. Another classic bot lane matchup of Kaisa/Xayah and Nautilus/Leona was decided on. RNG started this important first game with a 5-man top-side invade that almost caught Impact off guard, but he managed to flash out in time. Still, RNG punished perfectly with a level-3 dive and Wei got the first blood. There were multiple top dives and ganks in the first 10 minutes, especially after getting the first Rift Herald, which resulted in three kills and a herald crash. EG could only answer with one dragon.
The game was very one-sided, with RNG repeatedly getting picks and breaking the inner mid-tower with the second herald. At this point, there was an almost 10K gold lead and EG’s comeback hopes were fizzling. After a beautiful team fight, RNG got a 21-minute baron. With the last ticks of the baron, RNG dove into the mid-inhibitor towers, getting two kills and two inhibitors as a result. They managed to close out the game after another team fight in EG’s base. EG’s job was hard from the draft as Corki pick for Jojopyun wasn’t aggressive enough to counter Jarvan/Galio duo. Maybe for the next game, the young star should consider a champion that can match Xiaohu’s constant roams, so he can help top side dives more quickly.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: RNG – EG
- Time: 27:40
- Kills: 22-1
- Turrets: 11-0
- Gold: 58.5K-40.6K
- Dragons: 3-1
- Barons: 1-0
MSI 2022 Knockout Stage RNG – EG Game 2
EG started the second game on the blue side this time and banned Kai’Sa, Galio and Gwen. They managed to get Ahri/Ornn/Jinx which was big for them in the LCS Playoffs. RNG answered with a Lissandra counter, Xiaohu’s first time playing the champion in the MSI 2022. The game started high-paced, RNG got an early first blood at the 3-minute mark in the bot lane, killing Danny similarly. Impact died a minute later to a Wei gank but Inspired and Jojo answered by punishing an aggressive Xiaohu flash. EG’s dive in the top lane resulted in a 1v1 trade but Inspired’s death gave RNG the first herald. RNG went and got the first drake but they were punished by EG’s contest, giving away three kills.
Teams kept fighting as neither was willing to back down, there were 18 kills in 18 minutes. RNG got to the dragon soul point after Xiaohu caught out Inspired before the objective. EG decided to go for the baron but Wei stole it. Still, the Geniuses won the fight afterward, as Jojopyun hit multiple charms on RNG carries. Picking up a consolation Drake for their trouble. RNG pushed with their only Baron buff on Ming and gets a kill on Danny which then leads to an inhibitor take. After they opened the inhibitor, EG got caught a couple of times in their own jungle, eventually giving away four kills to a fully scaled RNG which managed to close out the game. It was a closer game, but RNG still managed to control it for the most of it.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: EG – RNG
- Time: 35:32
- Kills: 15-19
- Turrets: 4-9
- Gold: 60.7K-70.5K
- Dragons: 1-4
- Barons: 0-1
MSI 2022 Knockout Stage RNG – EG Game 3
The game 3 draft was the same for the top sides of the map. The only difference was in the bot lane, Braum for Ming, and with Tahm Kench banned EG, went for a Miss Fortune/Nautilus bot duo. EG started aggressively in the bot lane with Vulcan flashing on GALA but RNG turned it against them getting a 2v1 trade. EG tried to dive bot after losing the first herald, but a good flash for Bin and a teleport from the spellbook support resulted in the death of EG’s solo lanes. A bot lane roam to the mid lane resulted in a 2v1 trade for EG and Inspired went for the second herald. However, Bin was able to rotate earlier than Impact and managed to steal the objective.
Xiaohu was more on top of his roams this game. And with Jojopyun taking cleanse against Lissandra meant he couldn’t teleport to cover these roams. EG caught Ming in his own jungle but a perfectly timed stopwatch and a double TP meant RNG got four unanswered kills. Ming got caught again leading to Wei’s death and after Jojopyun landed a critical charm on GALA, EG got the baron and aced the RNG. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t get much out of the baron and lost multiple team members contesting the soul point. An engagement in the mid-lane from Wei and Xiaohu backfired for RNG as they gave away four kills and a second baron to EG. RNG got three kills in the Elder fight and pushed for the end, however, Jojopyun and Impact delayed it enough so EG could respawn. They got two kills and the Elder but Inspired dying meant RNG could kill the baron. In the last moments of the baron, Jojopyun and Inspired got caught in their jungle, leading to an ace and an RNG sweep.
Quick Stats:
- Teams: EG – RNG
- Time: 43:41
- Kills: 16-27
- Turrets: 4-9
- Gold: 79K-87.5K
- Dragons: 2-4
- Barons: 2-1
