LOL-MSI: TES "Makes History Again" Stuns with 1-3 Loss to TSW, Bows Out of MSI in Losers' Bracket

On July 5th, Beijing time, the first match of the third day of the 2026 MSI Mid-Season Invitational knockout stage in the losers' bracket featured LPL's second seed TES against LCP's first seed TSW! In this BO5, the gap between the top laners was enormous: young player ZUIAN couldn't handle the pressure and became a weak point, while TSW's top laner Pun secured a solo kill in the first game with Olaf, and his Sett in the third game posed a huge threat to TES's backline. Ultimately, TSW defeated TES 3-1 in an upset, advancing to the second round of the losers' bracket!

Game 1

TSW: Olaf, Lee Sin, Ryze, Senna, Tahm Kench

TES: Jayce, Jarvan IV, Yone, Ziggs, Rell

In the early game, only TES's top lane had lane priority. During a bot lane skirmish at level 2, JackeyLove's Ziggs missed two Qs, leaving Rell at half health. Tian's Jarvan IV chose a top-to-bottom jungle path. At the 3rd minute, fengyue's Rell engaged on Tahm Kench, and with Jarvan's damage, Ziggs secured first blood. However, ZUIAN's Jayce, who had Ignite, couldn't secure a solo kill—when he used hammer form Q on a minion, Pun's Olaf seized the opportunity, chased him down, and solo-killed Jayce.

Dire's Ryze maintained mid lane priority throughout. TES forced a dragon team fight while Creme's Yone couldn't rotate, sacrificing their jungler and support to secure the Mountain Dragon. TSW turned the fight into a 0-for-2 advantage and gained momentum. Once Ryze hit level 6, TSW's mid-jungle-support synergy kicked in: they ganked top four-man to kill Jayce, then anticipated TES's invasion of their bot-side jungle, rushed back to engage. Jarvan and Lee Sin traded kills, and TSW used their mid and bot lane priority to secure the Infernal Dragon, gaining a 2k gold lead.

At the 15th minute, a Rift Herald fight broke out. Pun's Olaf ulted to dive the backline, occupying three TES members' attention. Ziggs ulted to finish Olaf, but TSW's duo carries dealt damage freely, securing a 1-for-4 victory. Before Baron spawned, Jayce solo-killed TSW's top outer turret for first turret gold. TSW used Herald to take down TES's mid outer turret. Lee Sin invaded TES's bot-side jungle and caught Ziggs off guard, securing a kill with a precise Q from over the wall. TES's bot outer turret fell soon after, putting them in a dire situation.

TSW's top, mid, and jungle were far ahead of TES. After securing vision around Baron pit, they attempted a sneaky Baron, but TES noticed. Hizto's Lee Sin had used Smite before the Baron fight, giving TES a chance to steal. JackeyLove's Ziggs successfully stole the Baron! TES tried to press the advantage, but their support and jungler overextended and were caught, leading to a 0-for-2 trade. TSW retreated safely. TES used the Baron-buffed minions to take down TSW's top inner and mid outer turrets, stabilizing the pace temporarily.

When Baron respawned, TSW repeated their strategy: they took position in the Baron river and pressured TES. TES was forced to check the Baron pit vision. ZUIAN's Jayce face-checked a brush, got caught by Tahm Kench's engage, and was instantly melted. TSW split TES's formation and took them down one by one. Dire's Ryze got a triple kill, leading his team to a 1-for-5 ace. TSW secured Baron uncontested, unlocked the Ocean Soul, and extended their lead to 6k. TES lost all momentum and morale; their mid and bot members were picked off consecutively, losing remaining outer turrets. TSW destroyed TES's top and mid inhibitor turrets, built a 10k+ gold lead, and ignored both nexus turrets to ace TES 0-for-5, ending the game swiftly like sweeping fallen leaves. TSW took the 1-0 lead!

Game 2

TSW: Ornn, Naafiri, Aurora, Miss Fortune, Bard

TES: Rumble, Vi, Ahri, Zyra, Lulu

After the first game loss, TES adjusted their draft strategy. They had lane priority in all three lanes early, allowing Tian's Vi to secure the first Dragon without pressure. TSW's jungle and support tried to replicate their previous synergy, but TES's mid and bot lanes played cautiously, giving no openings. At the 10th minute, a Dragon team fight broke out. Creme's Ahri hit a precise charm on Naafiri, and TES collapsed to secure the kill, giving Ahri first blood. TSW could only concede the Chemtech Dragon.

Unable to find advantages bot-side, TSW shifted their ganks top. ZUIAN's Rumble overextended and was killed. TES responded quickly by taking bot first turret and setting up their Ocean Soul. After clearing vision around the Rift Herald, TSW grouped and initiated a fight, killing Rumble first. JackeyLove's Zyra ulted and tried to 1v2 from the brush but missed her E and couldn't secure the kill. Before Baron spawned, Zyra used E to gap-close and engage, absorbing TSW's initial damage before dying in a trade with Miss Fortune. TES seized the opportunity, winning a 1-for-2 and taking TSW's mid outer turret, gaining momentum!

TSW fell behind and lacked team fight damage. Their frontliner Ornn only had one completed item, making him unable to withstand TES's output. However, facing huge Dragon Soul pressure, TSW had to take a desperate fight at the Dragon river. TES's three carries dealt massive damage, breaking TSW's formation and routing them. TES chased and aced TSW 0-for-5 in the bot lane, then secured the Ocean Soul. At the 26th minute, TES ambushed TSW in their top-side jungle, killing Ornn and Aurora. With two key members down, TSW had to watch TES take Baron. The gold gap exceeded 10k! Finally, TES pushed mid inhibitor, and just like TSW in the previous game, they ignored nexus turrets and aced TSW 0-for-3 to end the game, tying the series 1-1!

Game 3

TES: Sion, Wukong, Smolder, Ashe, Seraphine

TSW: Sett, Xin Zhao, Sylas, Ezreal, Karma

In this game, both teams slowed down the pace early. TES's mid and bot lanes farmed steadily, while Sion faced some pressure top, falling behind in CS. ZUIAN's Sion ulted at level 6 to trade damage, but Pun's Sett used E to interrupt Sion's Q, then R-E combo forced Sion's flash. At the 7th minute, TSW's bot lane Ezreal hit level 6 first, ulted to poke TES's bot duo, then E'd over the minion wave to attempt a solo kill. However, JackeyLove's Ashe sidestepped Ezreal and Karma's Qs, killed Ezreal for first blood, then hit level 6 and ulted Karma perfectly for a double kill!

After recalling, TES's bot duo swapped top. Sion ulted but only forced Sett's flash, failing to open a top-lane breakthrough. TSW took the first Dragon, while TES secured Grubs as a trade. At the 13th minute, TSW struck both mid and bot: Dire's Sylas copied Creme's Smolder ult and landed point-blank R onto Smolder for a solo kill; meanwhile, both top laners rotated to the Dragon river. Wukong engaged and caught Karma, but Pun's Sett posed far more threat to the backline than Sion. TSW won a 1-for-2 and secured another Dragon.

TES's carries and support lacked mobility, making it hard to disengage from Sett's engages. TSW exploited this team fight advantage and Dragon Soul pressure. When the Dragon spawned, TSW aced TES 1-for-5. Although Wukong stole the Dragon before dying, disrupting TSW's Soul rhythm, TSW cleared TES's mid inner turret and could pressure the Baron river. With no flash on TES's carries, they had to play defensively and farm. TSW casually secured two more Drakes to "listen" to the Chemtech Soul, extending their gold lead to 5k.

In the mid game, TSW aggressively invaded TES's top-side jungle to secure vision. TES could only rely on Ashe's E "Hawk Shot" to scout. At the 28th minute, Tian's Wukong overextended while scouting and got isolated. Dire's Sylas sniped Wukong with a precise E over the wall, and TSW collapsed to kill him. Sion was also caught and fell. TES could only watch TSW take Baron, with the gold gap reaching 7k.

Finally, the two teams clashed at the Dragon river. Pun's Sett ulted to dive the backline, forcing TES's mid and bot to flash away. TSW took them apart one by one, acing TES 0-for-5, securing the Chemtech Soul, and pushing mid inhibitor to end the game. TSW took a 2-1 lead, earning match point in this BO5! Meanwhile, TES stood at the cliff's edge: one more loss would end their MSI journey, making them the first team eliminated in the knockout stage.

Game 4

TSW: Yorick, Mundo, Viktor, Caitlyn, Elise

TES: Gnar, Qiyana, Syndra, Mel, Pyke

At the start, both bot lanes fought hard at level 1. Although fengyue's Pyke hooked Caitlyn with Q, Bie's Elise landed a crucial E cocoon on Pyke, applied Ignite, and Caitlyn turned around to help Elise secure first blood. Pyke also burned his flash. Tian's Qiyana stepped up, ganking mid and killing Viktor to even things out.

In the early game, TSW found success top and bot: Mundo ganked top, and ZUIAN's Gnar, eager to trade, flashed to chase but failed and died; meanwhile, TSW's bot duo secured another lane kill, with Elise taking Pyke's life. Qiyana hit level 6 and ganked top, but her water-element ult couldn't push Yorick into the wall. Pun's Yorick 1v2'd without fear, nearly killing the low-HP Gnar. TSW secured Grubs. Although TES managed a 2-for-2 trade at the Dragon river to stabilize briefly, ZUIAN's impatience got the better of him—Gnar engaged Yorick with low fury, failed to transform, and was solo-killed.

With the advantage, TSW swapped lanes to accelerate: Viktor swapped to bot to farm, while Pun's Yorick quickly solo-killed TES's top outer turret for first turret. At the 15th minute, a Dragon river fight broke out. TES won a costly 4-for-3 trade; TSW secured the Dragon but failed to snowball the gold lead. Before Baron spawned, ZUIAN's mini-Gnar swapped to bot and was tower-dove by three TSW members. TSW used Herald to destroy TES's mid outer turret, while Yorick split-pushed through TES's bot inner turret. TES responded by taking TSW's top inner turret, keeping the gold even.

In the mid game, Tian's Qiyana smite-stole the Cloud Dragon, disrupting TSW's Dragon Soul pace. However, during a Baron river skirmish, TSW chased aggressively, forcing flashes on TES's carries. TSW themselves were in poor shape, so they temporarily abandoned Baron. Both teams returned to farming and catching picks on the side lanes. After some back-and-forth, TES chose to concede Baron in exchange for the Cloud Dragon. ZUIAN's Gnar caught Yorick while split-pushing bot, and with Qiyana's help, killed him, slowing down TSW's Baron-buff push.

At the 35th minute, TSW heavily invaded TES's bot-side jungle. TES couldn't deal with the unkillable Mundo and had to retreat to stall. TSW chased and killed TES's carries. Tian's Qiyana played brilliantly, assassinating Caitlyn, and TES also "listened" to the Cloud Soul. TSW waited for their teammates to respawn and moved to the Baron river. Hizto's Mundo tanked five enemies like it was nothing, helping his team secure a 0-for-2 and take Baron uncontested! Finally, TSW pushed mid with a 0-for-4 ace, ending the game in an upset 3-1 elimination of TES, advancing to the second round of the losers' bracket!