TCL now the first region eliminated from MSI 2022 Rumble stage contention
Three days into MSI 2022, Turkey's fastPay Wildcats are the first team to be eliminated from the event. The TCL representatives failed to win against RED Canids to keep their tournament hopes alive. Even though they still have one more game left, their 1-4 record makes it impossible to advance to the Rumble stage.
Wildcats entered the MSI 2022 looking to redeem themselves after their performance last year. However, they find themselves in the same spot with only one win in three days.
What went wrong for fastPay Wildcats at MSI 2022
While PSG Talon and RNG were already group favourites in Group B, many expected Wildcats to contest PSG for the second spot. Moreover, they came into the event with the same roster as last year with more experience on their side.
However, things didn't go as planned for the Wildcats as they still showed the same struggles as before. On Day 1, they faced RNG in a very one-sided game. They lacked the ability to withstand early game pressure and properly set up for objectives. Even though they will now re-play that game against RNG it will be inconsequential for the standings.
Furthermore, they were unable to replicate the performance that got them a win against RED Canids on Day 2. They quickly reverted back to the same early game and team fight mistakes that cost them games before. Moreover, while Wildcats looked set to take their second win against PSG today, a wrong baron call completely changed the game's direction.
Wildcats also made mistakes in the draft phase, especially on Day 4. Their decision to allow RED Canids pick the Gwen just after struggling to keep up with it against PSG came back to bite them. RED succeeded in pushing Wildcats out of their jungle and top lane. They constantly applied pressure towards that side of the map and avoided facing Anıl "HolyPhoenix" Işık in the bot lane. And with HolyPheonix on the Jhin, things got even more complicated for Wildcats as he could not make the picks he normally did.
And while the Wildcats are out of MSI 2022, Group B remains interesting with RNG, PSG and RED Canids all fighting for places in the Rumble stage.