The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2024 in League of Legends kicked off on Tuesday. European hopeful G2 Esports enters the tournament on Friday – and has to go head-to-head with the “immortal demon king”
It seems a little strange that the reigning LoL World Champions T1, led by star player ‘Faker’, first had to qualify for the MSI 2024 via the play-ins. The final defeat against Gen.G (2:3) in the Korean LCK a few weeks ago is to blame. However, T1 had no problems in the preliminary round: the South Koreans won 2-0 against both Estral Esports and FlyQuest in quick succession.
The world champions’ opening opponents G2 Esports – one of two European MSI hopefuls – on the other hand, won a direct ticket as LEC champions. Nevertheless, the Berlin-based organization is the clear underdog against the world-class ensemble from T1 on Friday at 11 am. After all, the winning team from Worlds 2023 stayed together: Top laner ‘Zeus’, jungler ‘Oner’, bot laner ‘Gumayusi’, supporter ‘Keria’ – and of course mid laner ‘Faker’, the “immortal demon king. “
Fnatic meets Gen.G – defending champion missing
If G2 is defeated as expected at the start of the tournament, there is still the chance of the Loser Bracket. The loser of the duel between last year’s finalist Bilibili Gaming and PSG Talon would then be waiting there. Fnatic is the second European team to make it into the bracket phase. The British organization beat GAM Esports twice 2:0 in the play-ins and will face Gen.G on Wednesday – nominally a tough one for Europe.
A glance at the defending champions – or rather the lack of a glance – shows just how high-class the MSI is this year. Because JD Gaming didn’t even qualify. The Chinese team missed out on a place in the final of the LPL against Top Esports (1:3) and can therefore only watch to see who will succeed them. This omission is particularly bitter as the MSI is being held in China for the first time since 2016 – JDG is missing out on the home edition of all things.
Speaking of Top Esports: The JDG conquerors already beat Team Liquid (3:0) from the USA on Tuesday and are already in the second round of the Winner Bracket. The MSI is relying on a double elimination and best-of-five format until the winner is determined in the final on May 19. In addition to the trophy, the winner will also secure a ticket to the 2024 Worlds and the lion’s share of the prize money of 50,000 US dollars – a total of 250,000 US dollars will be paid out.