From six to four: The semi-finalists of the MSI 2022 in South Korea are officially played out after the Rumble Stage. Of all teams, home team T1 is now under extra pressure.
In the end, Royal Never Give Up (RNG), Evil Geniuses (EG), G2 Esports and T1 are rejoicing. These remaining four organisations could prevail in the Rumble Stage – Saigon Buffalo Esports (SGB) and the LoL team from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG Talon), on the other hand, have to pull out of the tournament.
The Rumble Stage at the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) functions as an intermediate round after the group stage and before the semi-finals. It pits the top six organisations in the tournament against each other in two matches. RNG won a strong eight out of a total of ten matches to finish the Rumble Stage as the winner.
T1 in special focus at home tournament
The success in the intermediate round allowed RNG to choose their own opponent for the semi-finals. The Chinese organisation opted for a duel against the US team EG. Previously, both games in the Rumble Stage against EG could be won. So RNG is on a good way to the final.
As the South Korean flagship at the home tournament, T1 wanted to advance there as the clear favourite. But the team around LoL superstar ‘Faker’ suffered a defeat against G2 right at the start of the Rumble. Further setbacks against RNG and EG followed.
Although the atmosphere at this year’s MSI is really fantastic, the high expectations of the fans at the first MSI in South Korea also bring enormous pressure for the very young eSportsmen. For T1, it’s all about keeping calm in the semi-finals and making it to the final in front of their “own” crowd.
The action starts on Friday, 27 May, with the match between RNG and EG. On Saturday, 28 May, T1 will play against G2. The final will take place on Sunday, 29 May. A total of 250,000 US dollars will be at stake, of which 75,000 US dollars will go to the winning team.
