Midseason Invitational: Day One Recap
The second biggest international League of Legends event, aside from Worlds, started today in Shanghai, China. The best teams from each region clashed to establish supremacy over the global scene.
The Midseason Invitational (MSI) features the champion from each major league—SK Telecom T1 in Korea, Royal Never Give Up from China, Counter Logic Gaming from North America, G2 Esports from Europe, Flash Wolves from Taiwan, and SuperMassive from Turkey representing the group of international wild cards. The event’s group stage, which runs over the next five days, began today. Each team will play every other team twice leading into a playoff stage where the top four teams compete for the title next week.
After one day of play, few will be surprised that the teams from Asia’s two biggest regions sit atop the table. SK Telecom T1 and Royal Never Give Up are the only undefeated teams so far in Shanghai, but they got there through very different means.
SK Telecom T1 looked dominant in two games against G2 Esports and SuperMassive. The defending world champions are heavy favorites and played with that confidence, surrendering only four kills through their two matches of the day. That’s not a surprise for Turkish side SuperMassive, who is overwhelmed on the big stage. But G2 lost to the Korean juggernauts even faster than their Turkish rivals, only mustering three kills in a match they couldn’t survive for even 25 minutes.
SK Telecom T1 seems like a team on a mission, hungry to add that MSI trophy to a display case that’s only lacking that midseason title. Often the defending world champs suffer a bit of championship hangover after their victory, but the Koreans look like they haven’t missed a beat in 2016.
The tournament opened with an absolute slugfest between the Americans and Royal, a 43 minute game featuring 43 kills and ridiculous back-and-forth fights. Those kinds of fights were the norm, as both teams traded big plays and got caught out of position, leading to a tug of war for supremacy. Eventually, it was the Chinese side who came out on top.
It was a win that, after the match, Royal’s players said gave them confidence for the future of the event. That’s important as a table setter for the team, considering last year, after Chinese squad EDward Gaming took the MSI title, the region struggled at Worlds, leading to questions on whether the region could compete internationally.
Of course, that confidence didn’t make their match against heavy underdogs SuperMassive any easier. The Turkish team played a strong game against the hometown favorite, but Royal managed to secure the win and are in a solid position after one day of play.
Counter Logic Gaming and Flash Wolves at 1-1
Below SK Telecom T1 and Royal Never Give Up in the standings are two teams sitting at 1-1, Counter Logic Gaming and Flash Wolves.
The American champs opened the event with a disappointing close loss to Royal, but they finished the day by securing a win over Flash Wolves in a similarly close fashion. The lengthy game saw CLG come out on top thanks to a timely dragon steal from Jake “Xmithie” Puchero, leading to the eventual win.
Overall it was an up-and-down day for Counter Logic Gaming. The team showed creativity by picking Aurelion Sol in the first game, which caught Royal off guard and allowed CLG to make interesting plays around the map. But individually, HuHi’s play left much to be desired in both games. Stixxay showed he has a bit of the man he replaced in CLG’s lineup in him, putting together impressive team fights but often getting caught in no-man’s land. Xmithie may have pulled off the steal that won the game against Flash Wolves, but that was after a poor game overall with Kindred, leading to questions on whether he can perform on the international stage.
While there are plenty of questions about CLG, they were a few small plays from ending the day 2-0. It wasn’t an entirely encouraging start for CLG, but it gives hope they could potentially reach the finals of the event.
Flash Wolves may have fallen to CLG, but in some ways their day seemed more promising. Mid laner Huang “Maple” Yi-tang looks like he might be the second-best player in the tournament, and certainly the second-best mid laner. Their game against G2 Esports showcased the jungle-mid matchup, with Maple and Hung “Karsa” Hau-hsuan dominating the game. However, some questionable mid-game moves by G2 allowed the Flash Wolves combo to take control and secure the win.
Disappointing Start for G2 Esports and SuperMassive
The Europeans entered the event with a ready excuse—they didn’t get much practice in the weeks leading up to it. Of course, that’s their fault for spending the offseason on vacation instead of bootcamping in Korea. Both of their losses were disappointing, with a questionable draft against Flash Wolves leading to an untenable mid-game situation after a single mistake, followed up by a thrashing by SK Telecom T1. For a team that talked a big game before MSI, it was a disappointing start. Luckily for G2, there are four more days left in the group stage.
Outside of SK Telecom T1, the only team that exceeded expectations was Turkish side SuperMassive. The wild card team lost both games, but playing Royal close and surviving longer against the Korean titans than Europe counts as progress. Based on today’s results, it wouldn’t be surprising to see SuperMassive end the tournament with a win under their belt, something the team couldn’t accomplish last year at MSI with a similar roster as Beşiktaş e-Sports Club.
Looking Ahead
After one day at MSI, SK Telecom T1 moves from heavy favorites to prohibitive favorites. While it’s possible that Counter Logic Gaming, Flash Wolves, Royal Never Give Up, or even G2 Esports can improve and avoid mistakes as the tournament progresses, it’s hard to see that being enough to challenge the Korean powerhouse.
Matches start tonight at 1:30 AM ET as Counter Logic Gaming takes on G2 Esports, followed by a massive game between SKT and Royal. Later Royal will play G2, and SKT battles Flash Wolves, giving Maple a chance to try his hand against Faker. The first day of MSI may have produced some sloppy games, but many of them were close and exciting. If that’s any indication, we’re in for a hard-fought week and a half leading into the finals on May 15.
League of Legends, Midseason Invitational, MSI, SK Telecom T1, Royal Never Give Up, Counter Logic Gaming, G2 Esports, Flash Wolves, SuperMassive