MSI 2022: TI defeats Saigon Buffalo, G2 Esports wins over ORDER
The League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2022 began today, with the first six matches seeing 11 international teams competing. League fans watched the action unfold as the teams made their first appearances at MSI 2022.
The first day of the tournament gave teams and players the freedom to experiment with the metagame, including the option to select unusual champions. Teams are expected to experiment with different lineups throughout the MSI, and the meta will shift and change.
T1 defeats Saigon
T1 was considered the top contender to win this year’s Mid-Season Invitational by many observers. Considering their incredible performance in the 2022 LCK Spring Split and subsequent playoff victory, it was difficult to think of a better candidate to be awarded the greatest team at MSI 2022.
In the first match on May 10, T1’s Oner selected Vi, the Piltover Enforcer, as their final pick to face Saigon Buffalo Esports. This selection was made to reinforce the early-game aggression necessary to gain and maintain a commanding lead throughout the game.
T1 has proven they are worthy of their admiration. Saigon Buffalo did not stand a chance against T1’s teamwork and map control. Saigon Buffalo’s Shogun took first blood on Gumayusi during a level one battle in the bot lane.
T1 was winning everywhere else while Saigon Buffalo was winning in the bot lane of Summoner’s Rift. Oner managed to secure every Rift Herald and support his laners whenever he could. After 15 minutes, T1 suffocated its opponents in every map section.
Saigon Buffalo made some impressive final stand attempts, considering their gold (over 10,000 in 25 minutes) and neutral objectives deficits. But T1’s dynamic team combination won them the game in 26 minutes.
Despite losing their first international competition in three years, the Vietnam Championship Series representatives demonstrated they were a serious contender. With SGB facing off against T1’s Ryu “Keria” Min-seok and Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong, Nguyn “Shogun” Văn Huy proved he was up for the challenge.
A level one bush set up by Shogun and support Đinh “Taki” Anh Tài allowed them to draw the first kill of the tournament before either side had a chance to capture a single minion.
Player of the day: G2’s caPs
Besides T1’s victory against Saigon, G2 Esports had tremendous success on the first day of MSI 2022. Their unique selections resulted in a strategic win for G2, which is currently atop the Group C standings at 2-0. A large part of that success can be attributed to the fantastic play of their mid-laner, Rasmus “caPs” Winther.
The first time G2 faced ORDER, caPs dominated on Zoe by hitting every single Sleepy Trouble Bubble, leading to a flurry of kills and an easy win. While facing Evil Geniuses, caPs also showed his confidence by locking Anivia. All despite having been missing from professional competitions for five years.
In the match, caPs went deathless, earning G2 the opening victory.
If it were not for the typical banter between the two regions, it would not be an NA-EU rivalry. The official G2 Esports Twitter account demonstrated that social media smack talk was not only for fans this time.
