The League of Legends 2026 Mid-Season Invitational knockout stage has officially started. HLE blanked TSW 3-0 to secure their MSI opening win. Then, our region's team, TES, fell 3-2 to G2, creating a new MSI history as the first team to suffer a reverse sweep in the main event. Skepticism surrounded TES before the game, but after the match, they proved to be the most laughable.

After winning the first two games, they lost three in a row—the players and coaching staff were truly baffling. In particular, the coach, known as a championship-winning strategist, started making increasingly questionable BPs from Game 3 onward. Giving the opponent both Caps' Syndra and BrokenBlade's Kled in the same game—it's unclear what TES's coaching staff studied during the break, whether they even looked at G2's matches in their domestic league.

The BPs for the last two games were absurd. When Nocturne was picked in the jungle, no one on the team could follow up on his engage. A composition with no frontline, no initiation, and no crowd control—yet drafted by Poppy. In the decisive game, with a counter pick available and the opponent already locking in Anivia top, they still chose Ornn to tank. The lineups either had no frontline or were all frontline. The most ridiculous part was that they even messed up the champion swap.

If you watched the match, you know that after the decisive game's BP, there was a long pause. The two teams then re-did the BP before entering the game. The reason for the pause: TES tried to swap their jungle and support roles in the final seconds, putting Pantheon in the jungle and Maokai bot. However, professional rules require that champion swaps be completed at least 20 seconds before the game countdown ends; otherwise, the opponent can protest and force a BP restart.

Riot implements this rule to give the other team enough time to adjust runes. TES's confusing move violated the official rules. After G2's coaching staff protested to the referee, the BP had to be redone. Once the trick failed, they had to let Maokai jungle. They couldn't even time the swap correctly—TES is truly hopeless. If they had put Pantheon jungle, they might not have lost so badly.

Fengyue's Pantheon in the last game was really rough—it was clear his proficiency was very low. Being reverse-swept by G2 also exposed TES's champion pool issues. By the third game, Zuian had run out of picks, so the coach forced him onto Tristana, which had zero impact. Fengyue's champion pool was also insufficient, and the meta-strong Bard was self-banned every game, while Camille was left open but never picked.

With such a shallow champion pool, TES cannot go far in this MSI. Facing strong teams like BLG, T1, or HLE, it's completely unrealistic to ban out all meta picks. However, losing to G2 actually makes it easier for TES to reach the semifinals. In their next match, they face TSW, and if they win, they'll then meet a North American or Brazilian team in the third round.

Although the loser's bracket schedule is favorable for TES, after their performance in the last three games against G2, even beating a Vietnamese team like TSW isn't guaranteed. It wouldn't be surprising if TES pulls off another disaster. Not only did they set a new historic low by losing to G2, but G2 also rubbed it in. G2's official account posted: "Spinning speed incredible!" with a video of an old man spinning a top—G2's logo on the man, and TES's logo on the top.

Conclusion:

In fact, the outcome of this BO5 was within most viewers' expectations, as many doubted TES before the match. What surprised people, however, was that TES started hot in the first two games and reached match point, only to fall apart later. They gave fans hope, then suddenly pulled a huge letdown. In terms of disappointing people, TES has never disappointed.

So, what do you think of Poppy's BP decisions?

Feel free to leave your comments below!