The four strongest teams at the 2026 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational have been confirmed. On the last game day, the second round of the lower bracket started. The TSW squad, which had knocked out TES, was completely outclassed when facing LYON. LYON swept TSW in three straight games, eliminating them. A North American team sweeping a Vietnamese team with ease—this shows that TES is truly the weakest among the playoff teams this MSI.

Another match on the same day was T1 versus G2. Before the showdown, more viewers favored T1 because when G2 faced LPL teams, they barely beat TES in a full five-game series, and against HLE they were swept without winning a single game. Although T1 lost to BLG in the first round, that series also went to five games. Therefore many believed T1 was stronger. However, in this match G2 triggered the "anti-Korean buff" and won.

The two teams only played four games, with G2 defeating T1 3-1 and advancing to the third round of the lower bracket. Doran's performance in this BO5 was unbearably poor; he was completely outclassed in the top lane every single game. In the first game, he picked Renekton, but BrokenBlade countered with Vayne. Within just three minutes of laning, Doran was solo-killed. Despite T1 having a huge advantage in the bottom half of the map, Vayne managed to turn the teamfights around through mechanical outplays. The following games were much the same.

In the second game, Doran played Yorick against Cho'Gath. He was targeted early and gave away several kills, directly feeding a huge monster. Despite T1 still having an advantage in the mid and bottom lanes, they simply couldn't deal with the 5000-6000 HP Cho'Gath in teamfights, and G2 secured match point. In the third game, Doran continued his disastrous play: Gnar versus Yasuo. He was solo-killed in lane, didn't manage his rage before teamfights, and TP'd in as mini-Gnar only to feed. If G2 hadn't been too reckless, T1 would have been swept 3-0.

In the decisive game, Doran redeemed himself slightly by getting a solo kill at level 3. Meanwhile, T1's mid and bot lanes also secured lane kills. With a huge early advantage, BrokenBlade once again stepped up, making plays and cleaning up teamfights, dragging the game into the late stage. With T1's weak late-game composition, they eventually lost. In all three of G2's wins, the MVP was BrokenBlade. Doran's performance in this BO5 really let his teammates down—he was nothing but a liability.

Although T1 lost, Peyz definitely gave his all. Calling him a tragic hero is no exaggeration. In the first game, on Ziggs, he started 8-0 and dealt massive damage, but died only once and the base exploded. In the second game on Mel, he made no mistakes, but his team simply couldn't damage the Cho'Gath in fights. The third game, which they won, was entirely because Peyz went all out on Xayah, pulling off incredible mechanical plays in teamfights and dealing tons of damage to barely carry a win.

The decisive game was the toughest for Peyz. He secured a pentakill and dealt the highest damage in the match—87,000—yet still couldn't win. His performance in every game was flawless, even outstanding, but his teammates let him down completely. When Doran returns to the locker room, he really ought to bow down to his AD carry. Doran's play in this BO5 was absolutely inhuman. If he had avoided being crushed in even just one game, his teammates would have had a much easier time. It's truly unbelievable.

I have no idea what the T1 coaching staff was thinking. They gave Doran carry top laners in four consecutive games. After the first two games, couldn't the coaches see the huge gap in the top lane? If in the three losses, even one or two games Doran had played a tank to absorb pressure, T1 would have had a chance to take the series to five games. Because Caps was in poor form this BO5—in the third and fourth games, he made mistakes—but T1, usually good at capitalizing on mistakes, failed to do so.

Conclusion:

Among all the top six teams at this MSI, Peyz is definitely the one who was screwed over the most by his teammates. He played well in lane and performed brilliantly in teamfights, yet still couldn't win. If you put yourself in the AD's shoes, you'd really want to beat Doran up. Last year he was let down at JDG, and now that he's joined a world championship team, things haven't changed much. Peyz seems to have left JDG, but in reality, he's back at JDG.

What are your thoughts on Peyz's performance?

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