LOUD Bares Fierce Fangs at Top Esports to Start Out MSI 2024

It is only the end of the 2nd day of MSI 2024, and already, the games are not going as smoothly as some would have anticipated. T1’s match yesterday against Estral was neither clean for the former, nor as timidly played as expected by the latter.

Similarly, today, we witnessed LOUD not only stand up to the LPL giants of Top Esports, but also push the series into the realm of competitiveness.

While to some, this may appear a small token, to the majority in the scene, the dominance of not just the four major regions, but specifically the LPL and the LCK, is so deeply embedded in the international tournament consciousness that this spark of almost rebellion is so enticing to watch.

LOUD Push TES

Game 1

In Game 1, we saw LOUD boldly draft a powerful composition that included instant answers for TES’ favorite opening gambit. This included the Taliyah answer into Lin “Crème” Jian’s Azir and a strong Varus-Nautilus bot side that eventually led to an extremely competitive answer for LOUD in the later game.

However, what solidified their impressive performance against TES, even though they did not emerge victorious, was their willingness to aggress and make reaction calls. This allowed them to keep up and prevent TES from completely running away with the game tempo. Where they were slightly let down by, was their macro knowledge, especially on juggling aggression on the sidelanes. Their map movement led to them being on the backfoot as the game went on.

Throughout Game 1, Moon “Route” Geom was the standout performer. Especial mention to Leonardo “Robo” Souza as well for his Renekton, standing tall against the top lane titan Bai “369” Jia-Hao, absorbing much of the early game pressure.

Game 2

Moreover, and more incredibly, in Game 2, LOUD truly showed that they came prepared for MSI. They brought out the lane swap technology, utilizing Robo on the Zac and bringing back Route on the Varus threat once again. However, the key star for this second game on LOUD’s side has to be Thiago “tinowns” on the Aurelion Sol.

While LOUD may not have scored a game against TES, they certainly left a lasting impression on the Chinese side. The combinations in the first game with tinowns Taliyah and Ygor “Redbert” Freitas’ Nautilus, the Aurelion Sol in game 2, and overall, Route’s incredible, fearless performance, gives some hope to the Brazil region in international matches moving forwards.

Read More: Reddit's reaction to Top Esports vs LOUD

All games at MSI 2024 can be tracked using the Strafe Esports app (Strafe Android and iOS apps). Alternatively, here is the link for the website version of the schedule: Group A and Group B.

Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

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