这是一句重新表达的第一句话。

On July 3rd, Beijing time, the highlight match of the first day of the 2026 MSI Mid-Season Invitational knockout stage pitted LPL’s second seed TES against Europe’s LEC first seed G2! The two teams have exchanged victories in previous international encounters. Today, TES started strong in the first two games, but G2 displayed remarkable resilience to even the score, ultimately completing a reverse sweep to defeat TES. They will now face LCK’s first seed HLE in the next round of the winners' bracket!

Game 1

TES: Ambessa, Naafiri, Cassiopeia, Varus, Nautilus

G2: Rumble, Olaf, LeBlanc, Ashe, Braum

Early in the game, all three TES laners were in top form, dominating their lanes entirely. Fengyue’s Nautilus landed a decisive Q hook, forcing Ashe to use both summoner spells in a trade, allowing Varus to push the wave and recall first for item upgrades. At the 3-minute mark, SkewMond’s Olaf attempted a mid-lane gank. Creme’s Cassiopeia showcased impressive footwork, dodging Caps’ LeBlanc chain and Olaf’s axe. Once Olaf retreated to the jungle, Cassiopeia secured a solo kill on LeBlanc, claiming first blood!

After Olaf reached level 6, he ganked the bottom lane. Nautilus initiated with a Q on Labrov’s Braum, who retaliated with his ultimate. G2’s trio eliminated Nautilus and gave chase. JackeyLove’s Varus, slowed by Olaf, failed to flash Ashe’s arrow, allowing Olaf to claim a double kill. G2 secured a dragon after a 0-for-2 exchange. Although G2 achieved their desired outcome in the bottom lane, Caps’ underperforming LeBlanc became a weakness for TES. After swapping to the top lane, LeBlanc was caught and killed twice in succession. TES capitalized by taking the top lane outer turret, while G2 responded with another dragon. At the 18-minute mark, ZUIAN’s Ambessa executed a flawless combo in the top lane to solo-kill LeBlanc. With a numbers advantage, TES claimed the dragon, disrupting G2’s dragon soul pace.

In the mid-game, G2 coordinated their top laner, jungler, and support to eliminate Ambessa, who had swapped to the bottom lane. However, Ambessa managed to take Braum down in a 1v3 fight. TES’s players took this opportunity to destroy G2’s inner mid-lane turret. As the fourth dragon appeared, G2 positioned themselves first in the river. Their top laner and support used their ultimates to initiate a team fight. TES struggled to handle the ulting Olaf, and G2 secured a 1-for-2 trade but failed to capture the dragon. By the 30-minute mark, both teams were skirmishing around the Baron pit. Braum flashed and missed his ultimate initiation, and Olaf used his ultimate to trade with Varus. Tian’s Naafiri killed Olaf, resetting her ultimate, and then took down Ashe. ZUIAN’s Ambessa, on the flank, predicted LeBlanc’s W return point, using her ultimate to trap and eliminate LeBlanc over the wall. TES claimed the Baron uncontested! In the final push, TES stormed G2’s top lane inhibitor tower, securing a 2-for-4 exchange to end the game in dominating fashion, taking a 1-0 lead and securing the LPL’s first win at this MSI!

Game 2

TES: Renekton, Jarvan IV, Aurora, Ezreal, Neeko

G2: K’Sante, Xin Zhao, Ahri, Zeri, Lulu

After dropping the first game, G2 seemed to awaken. All three lanes saw intense skirmishes early on. Tian’s Jarvan IV’s first gank targeted the mid lane, but Labrov’s Lulu made a timely rotation to assist Ahri in securing first blood on Jarvan IV. However, Jarvan’s dying E – Demacian Standard – also took down Ahri.

As first blood occurred mid-lane, a fight also broke out in the bottom lane, resulting in Neeko and Zeri trading kills. ZUIAN’s Renekton played too aggressively in his top-lane pressure, getting pulled under tower by BrokenBlade’s K’Sante and solo-killed. Tian’s Jarvan IV balanced ganks with map control, securing two dragons for his team. In the mid-game, TES grouped aggressively, slowly building a snowball by outnumbering G2 in fights and destroying all three of G2’s outer turrets. Caps’ Ahri, after swapping to the top lane to push, was caught and solo-killed by ZUIAN’s Renekton from behind, causing G2’s tempo to stall. Before Baron spawned, TES secured the dragon pit first. Fengyue’s Neeko, hiding in G2’s jungle, used her ultimate to initiate, helping TES secure a massive 1-for-4 victory! G2 was forced to concede the dragon, and their bottom inner turret soon fell, leaving them 6,000 gold behind.

G2 cleared the unfavorable minion waves and entered the Baron river to contest vision. They fought two consecutive teamfights with TES. TES’s players displayed superior execution and kiting. First, their mid-jungle duo cleaned up a fight, securing a 3-for-5 ace. Then, Creme’s Aurora reacted perfectly to dodge G2’s engage, turning it into a 0-for-3 victory. They then secured the Baron without issue! Aurora stacked her Mejai’s Soulstealer to 25, one-shotting the fragile Lulu in the mid lane. G2, fighting 4v5, was powerless. TES pushed through the mid lane to end the game, securing a 2-0 lead and match point!

Game 3

TES: Sion, Wukong, Ryze, Aphelios, Thresh

G2: Kled, Skarner, Syndra, Xayah, Rakan

Facing elimination, G2 continued their aggressive style in Game 3. The Xayah-Rakan duo forced Thresh back to base at level 2 and attempted to dive JackeyLove’s Aphelios. Fortunately, Aphelios flashed to safety, but the Xayah-Rakan duo burned both their flashes in the process. At 3 minutes, Tian’s Wukong ganked the top lane. BrokenBlade’s Kled failed to proc his passive to remount and conceded first blood.

Early in the game, G2’s jungler, SkewMond’s Skarner, began to find his form. Although Tian’s Wukong helped Aphelios kill Xayah during a bot-lane gank, Skarner successfully counter-ganked twice, resulting in TES’s mid-laner and jungler dying consecutively. G2 secured two dragons, and the Xayah-Rakan duo used their champion’s power spike to get a lane kill on Aphelios, achieving their first economic lead of the series! By the 14-minute mark, G2 initiated on Wukong in the dragon river. TES’s support arrived quickly, securing a 1-for-2 trade to stem the bleeding. Meanwhile, Creme’s Ryze solo-killed the top lane and took the first turret. Just before Baron spawned, Caps’ Syndra used Flash-E in the mid lane to stun multiple TES members, leading G2 to a 1-for-3 victory and securing the Cloud Soul point. Despite frequent skirmishes in the mid lane, G2 maintained a 3,000 gold lead.

The only major neutral objective TES secured was the Rift Herald. After destroying G2’s mid-lane outer turret, they tried to press their advantage. ZUIAN’s Sion misjudged his tankiness, leading the Herald into G2’s inner turret, where he and Aphelios were caught and killed. G2 secured a 0-for-2 trade and headed straight for Baron. TES’s remaining three players successfully contested the first attempt, but G2’s engage combo was too strong. Caps’ Syndra secured the first pentakill of the knockout stage! With Baron, G2 pushed through the mid lane to end the game, displaying incredible resilience to reduce the deficit to 1-2!

Game 4

G2: Gnar, Vi, Twisted Fate, Lucian, Milio

TES: Tristana, Nocturne, Hwei, Jhin, Karma

As G2 continued their resurgence, the first fourth game of a BO5 in this MSI occurred. ZUIAN’s Tristana displayed excellent level 1 mechanics, poking Gnar to near death from beyond the minion wave. However, TES’s bot lane made a mistake: after Fengyue’s Karma recalled, JackeyLove’s Jhin assumed G2’s support Labrov’s Milio had also recalled. However, Milio was hiding in the bush faking a recall and set up Hans Sama’s Lucian for first blood on Jhin.

ZUIAN’s Tristana, eager to create an advantage for his team, played too aggressively in positioning and trading, getting caught and killed twice consecutively by SkewMond’s Vi. This inadvertently opened a gap for G2 in the top lane. After Lucian recalled and completed his first core item, Essence Reaver, G2 grouped top lane. They secured a 1-for-2 trade and took the top lane outer turret. TES responded by securing the first two dragons to mitigate losses. At the 17-minute mark, G2 secured the dragon pit first. TES chose to group and force vision control. G2 forced three summoner spells (Flash) from TES’s two carries and support, costing only Gnar’s Flash. TES was forced to concede the dragon and their bottom lane outer turret. Before Baron spawned, Hans Sama’s Lucian miscalculated while pushing the mid-lane turret, failing to destroy the low-health structure and gave a shutdown bounty to Tian’s Nocturne. TES secured a 0-for-2 trade to stabilize, trailing by less than 3,000 gold.

With the advantage, G2 naturally didn’t want TES to secure any more dragons. The two teams engaged in multiple skirmishes in the bottom half of the map. TES, leveraging their longer range, secured a total of 0-for-3 victory, eliminating G2’s top laner, jungler, and support. TES secured the Cloud Soul point and bought more development time for their three carries. At the 26-minute mark, Caps’ Twisted Fate used his ultimate to fly top, teaming up with Gnar to tower-dive and kill Tristana, forcing TES to defend their inhibitor tower. Tian’s Nocturne was caught and killed while rotating back, allowing G2 to secure the Baron pressure-free! TES’s bottom lane inhibitor turret soon fell. Forced to manage three lanes of minion waves, TES conceded vision control in the dragon river. G2 ambushed and chunked Nocturne in TES’s bottom jungle. TES retreated but was stalled mid-lane by Caps’ Twisted Fate. SkewMond’s Vi landed a miraculous Flash-Q to disrupt TES’s formation. G2 secured a 3-for-4 trade and destroyed TES’s mid-lane inhibitor. After their members respawned, they secured a second Baron. ZUIAN’s Tristana, while clearing the top lane, was flanked by Gnar and forced to run in the opposite direction. Caps’ Twisted Fate used his ultimate to scout first, then flew to Tristana after she used her W, eliminating her. With a numbers disadvantage, TES could only defend their Nexus. G2 pushed through the mid lane to end the game, forcing a decisive Game 5 with incredible tenacity!

Game 5

G2: Anivia, Poppy, Mel, Sivir, Rell

TES: Ornn, Maokai, Yasuo, Ziggs, Pantheon

At the start of the game, Labrov’s Rell went to the top lane to place a ward and encountered ZUIAN’s Ornn. As Ornn chased Rell, BrokenBlade’s Anivia arrived. G2’s top laner and support chunked Ornn down, achieving their goal before Rell recalled and headed to the bottom lane. At the 3-minute mark, action erupted in all three lanes simultaneously: SkewMond’s Poppy ganked the top lane, securing first blood on Ornn, though he was traded. Meanwhile, G2’s bot lane secured a lane kill, with Rell eliminating JackeyLove’s Ziggs. Tian’s Maokai failed his mid-lane gank as Caps’ Mel used her W to reflect Maokai’s E sapling, escaping unscathed.

Early on, both bot laners farmed 1v1 while their supports roamed to the mid lane to protect their carries. Ornn used his first ultimate at level 6 on the mid lane, but Fengyue’s Pantheon missed his empowered Q, failing to secure the kill. Poppy and Pantheon then traded kills in the dragon river. At the 12-minute mark, G2’s jungle-support duo successfully ganked mid. Creme’s Yasuo died before Pantheon could arrive to assist. Pantheon, arriving late, was dove and killed by G2’s trio, propelling G2’s tempo! Although TES later secured a 2-for-3 trade in the bottom lane, Anivia solo-killed TES’s top lane outer turret uncontested. Before Baron spawned, both teams engaged in chaotic skirmishes, trading another 2-for-2 in the bottom lane. TES held two dragons, while G2 had destroyed all three of TES’s outer turrets, holding a 4,000 gold lead.

G2’s turret advantage translated into vision control in the dragon river, forcing TES to concede the third dragon. However, they now faced Baron pressure. G2 recalled, topped up on health and items, and secured the Baron pit first. Ornn used his ultimate, but Mel reflected it with her W, preventing the second cast. Anivia’s W wall also split TES’s formation. G2 secured a 2-for-4 victory and claimed the Baron! ZUIAN’s Ornn, eager to create a play, died twice consecutively in the bottom jungle. TES’s bottom lane inhibitor fell, and they fell behind by nearly 10,000 gold. At the 29-minute mark, TES fought desperately in front of their top lane inhibitor, securing a 2-for-1 trade, only losing their top laner and jungler in exchange for Sivir. Without the risk of a smite battle, G2 casually secured a second Baron. With TES’s top and mid-lane inhibitors falling, the game was lost. Ultimately, G2 completed the reverse sweep, defeating TES 3-2, and will face LCK’s first seed HLE in the next round of the winners' bracket!