Gen.G Advances to Next Round of MSI Lower Bracket, Western Teams Struggle
Gen.G emerged victorious over Cloud9 in a lopsided series at the 2023 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational. This defeat marks the end of Western representation in London, as both the LCS and LEC teams failed to perform well on the international stage.
Throughout the month-long tournament, the LCS and LEC regions played a total of 20 games against the LCK and LPL teams, managing to win only three of those games. The first win for the West came during the play-in stage when Golden Guardians won a game against Bilibili Gaming. G2 Esports also secured two wins against Gen.G and BLG in the bracket stage.
Gen.G dominated Cloud9, winning all three games in under 80 minutes. However, this wasn’t the fastest series of the tournament, as the defending LEC champions lost to T1 in a 73-minute set. Cloud9 was outclassed in various aspects, from macro play to teamfighting, with individual performances falling short as well.
One exception was Cloud9’s AD carry, Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol, who held his own against his counterpart. However, Gen.G’s superior team play and coordination proved too much for Cloud9. The Korean team aggressively attacked the mid and bottom lanes, often putting Cloud9 on the backfoot early on.
The disappointing performance of Western teams raises concerns about the gap between regions. With the 2023 World Championship approaching, LCS and LEC teams have a lot of work to do to catch up to the competition. The hope is that by bootcamping in South Korea, known for its tough and competitive servers, these teams will be better prepared to face powerhouses in October.
FOUR TEAMS REMAIN. #MSI2023 pic.twitter.com/PiDKwB0NL7
After their Lower Bracket loss against @GenG, @C9LoL are out of #MSI2023. pic.twitter.com/Q5sJelCpMg
Gen.G, Cloud9, LCS, LEC, League of Legends, Mid-Season Invitational, Western teams, World Championship, South Korea