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You Best Not Miss (Again): G2 to face T1 again at MSI 2024
G2 Esports, fresh off their victory against Top Esports, is poised for a rematch against T1 at MSI 2024.
The two teams first faced off in the first round of the Bracket Stage. While many expected, rightfully so, that T1 would emerge victorious, few could have anticipated the outcome to have been as close as it was.
After an arduous 5 game series, T1 emerged as the victor, albeit scathed. G2’s ferocity in the game, coupled with their extreme mastery over lane swapping and T1’s weaker form, led to a closer game than many saw coming.
Setting the Stage: T1 vs G2 (Round 2)
G2 Drop to the Lower Bracket
Despite ending up as the loser of that series, G2 did not falter on their way through the lower bracket. Picking up back-to-back 3-0 wins against PSG Talon and Top Esports, they have made their way to the lower semifinals of the event.
Read More: G2 upsets TES in an unexpected, one-sided MSI 2024 match
T1’s Questionable Form
T1 came into MSI 2024 on the backfoot. After struggling through the Spring Split as they battled with external factors which impacted their in-server form throughout. Coming into MSI 2024, as the defending Worlds champions, T1 had a lot to prove if they sought to continue being contenders internationally.
Despite finishing 2nd in the LCK still, their form was noticeably lesser than the norm, especially on the individuals.
T1 began with a powerful 2 wins against Estral Esports and FlyQuest, demolishing both teams 2-0 and qualifying through Play-Ins in record time. Coming into the Bracket Stage, T1 showed better form as they ultimately took down G2 after having to force Silver Scrapes.
T1 went on to face Bilibili Gaming right after, losing to the LPL 1st seed in a 1-3 loss. They then had to face Team Liquid, dropping a game against the LCS 1st seed but eventually closing out the series 3-1.
Read all about the first matchup between these two here: 2.3M people tuned in to watch G2 Esports push T1 to the limit
The Win Conditions: The Last Hope of the West at MSI 2024
For G2, their greatest asset coming into MSI 2024 is most certainly their players. Star-studded as far as a roster goes, the skill level of the players allows them to focus on incredible flexibility in the draft phase.
Being one of the first teams in Europe and the West to adopt the lane swap meta, they were also one of the first to adopt Rek’Sai and Twisted Fate top. Moreover, at MSI thus far, they have shown incredible experience and proven themselves as the safest pair of hands for the fate of Europe’s competitive League of Legends internationally.
Not only did they go toe-to-toe with the defending Worlds champions, but they also took down the LPL 2nd seed in 3-0 fashion.
Heading into this next Bo5, the key factor for G2’s victory will most likely lie with their Jungle-Mid synergy. With the lane swap meta in place, the most volatile lane matchup at MSI 2024 is the mid lane.
Faker versus Baby Faker is not just an incredible matchup, Faker is also currently struggling with one of his worst international tournament performances ever. Meanwhile, Caps is soaring high with one of his best. Meaning, if G2 can unlock Caps early into the series, G2 stand a far greater chance.
Furthermore, this writer believes that another key, sometimes overlooked component to this matchup, is the support matchup. Keria is currently undergoing an extremely quiet tournament.
For a player of his caliber, it cannot be understated enough what an outlier that is. G2’s support, Mikyx, meanwhile, is having an incredible tournament, with high impact plays that have not only done immense work to unlock his AD Carry Hans Sama, but also find early advantages for G2 despite teams being aware of their lane swap tendencies.
T1 need Championship form, now
Comments by Faker paint a clearer image on the team’s thoughts on the first series.
Firstly, he felt that [T1’s] reactions to G2’s early game was ‘a little poor.’ Moreover, he admitted that T1’s read on G2’s playstyle was not on point, stating that they could have done better with more research.
‘We made a lot of mistakes in general’ said Faker after the series. This coupled with the immense exhaustion of T1’s practice since the end of the LCK Spring Finals and travel to Chengdu, may have contributed to their poorer form at this event.
‘G2 prepared well for this MSI and achieved many good results. If we do our job well, we can show a better performance. We are focusing on how our team can perform better, and if we do this well, we can definitely win this time as well. Of course, it depends on our condition, but we can definitely beat G2 3-0.’
T1 have spent the last 3 weeks since the LCK wrapped up in China, attending press events as well as preparing for the first international event of the year. Whether or not they can muster enough form to contend properly with G2 remains to be seen. But even a weakened T1 is not easy prey, and G2 will need all their power to see a victory in this revenge series.
G2 Esports and T1 face off once again at MSI 2024 on the 17th of April at 9am CET // 18:00 KST. Follow the game on Twitch and YouTube. You can also follow the game on Strafe.
Featured Image Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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