LoL MSI 2024 T1 vs G2: A hope is strong, but dreams are broken

T1 and G2 Esports had to decide who will continue the fight in the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2024 (LoL MSI 2024) event. Their first match at this tournament was super close, and still, T1 won it. The European fans dreamed the result will be different this time...

Everything about this important LoL MSI 2024 match is here, on esports.gg: score, stream, picked champions, a detailed recap, and an interview with the winners.

Every game at such a level is important! Sometimes, having an early advantage in Game 1 brings players a relatively easy match win — G2 players know that from their match vs Top Esports. Still, being even two games ahead doesn’t guarantee victory. The LoL MSI 2024 T1 vs G2 lower bracket semifinal is of the best-of-five (Bo5) format, and the winners had to aim for three games in their pockets. Well, T1 did it pretty well and their hope for the MSI 2024 title is strong now.

The stream of the T1 vs G2 match is right here:

Picks and bans are an important part of any game. The MSI 2024 participants certainly have a big personal arsenal of champions, and they choose the best for the current meta and exact matchups.

Here are the champions the T1 and G2 players picked up during their MSI 2024 lower bracket semifinal.

What Champions were banned through the match by both teams?

It would be unfair to say that G2 don’t look good in this match. No! The European team played an impressive League of Legends, but… T1 was better. The Korean players were patient, they followed their plan, they increased their advantage, they punished mistakes, and they won LoL MSI 2024 T1 vs G2.

The level of play was incredible at the LoL MSI 2024 lower bracket semifinal. That moment of urgent defense of their base by G2 and then a sudden strike by Fake — it is historic! We at esports.gg are looking forward to seeing T1 playing further at the tournament (and sure, to future inter-regional matches by G2).

T1 started game 1 with a lane swap: Gumayusi and Keria went to the top lane; G2 mirrored that move. That changed pretty quickly, and after gaining initial confidence and a small gold advantage, T1 returned to the classic lane phase. G2 responded well to this, and the European team got a 1k gold lead and a strong presence on all lanes.

T1 won the first really big team fight, even if G2 stole Rift Herald — T1 got a 3-kill advantage. A bit later, G2 initiated a new fight, and… lost three players in it. The G2’s gold advantage evaporated. Trying to compensate for this, G2 slew Chemtech Drake, but then lost players in a team fight again.

T1 took Baron soon after that. Their advantage reached 10 kills and 7k gold. Still on the Baron buff, T1 attacked the opponents’ base, eliminated everyone there, and destroyed the Nexus.

G2 started much more aggressively this time. BrokenBlade pressured super early, even if he could not get first blood. The European team managed to earn a nice initial kill advantage and some objectives in their pockets.

T1 did not agree with that and decided to compensate for their deficit, starting with clearing the bot lane. The teams were close to each other in terms of kills and gold after a big team fight. Zeus continued his dominance, like it was game 1.

G2 pressured aggressively in the mid-game too. After a successful team fight, they took a dragon and were two kills and 2k gold ahead. T1 started Baron but were interrupted — to return in a couple minutes, take the objective and kill a few opponents. The game was still pretty even at this point, and it slowed down a bit. Teams exchanged kills and towers.

Again, T1 grouped successfully around Baron, and however G2 tried to resist, they died all. T1 abandoned Baron and started their base siege. The opponents respawned and almost killed the attackers. It looked not bad for G2 at all, but then Faker jumped back to the Nexus and took away a few pixels of health from the building — and G2 in game 2.

Another aggressive start brought a small advantage for G2 in game 3. Sure, the T1 players are good at answering such moves. They confidently equalized the pace — but that started  (seemingly) falling apart around the 15th minute. G2 even tried pressuring the base pretty soon after that, with a 4k gold and 3-kill advantage.

G2 players were dying too, but they prevented a Baron attack by T1 and got even more gold on their side. It looked like G2 were finally stronger in this series. They were close to taking Baron or a dragon. But then, T1 spectacularly won a team fight and took Baron. Suddenly, G2 lost their all advantage.

T1 was rather cautious with their Baron buff. They wanted to strike really hard, so they waited for the advantage to get bigger. T1 severely punished G2’s mistakes — and eventually, they stole Baron, got an Ace over the opponents, demolished their base, and eliminated G2 from the MSI 2024.

T1 continues playing at the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2024. Their next opponent is Bilibili Gaming. Will it be just another step before the grand final for the Korean players? And may this step lead T1 to another title in addition to being World Champions 2023?

There should be some interesting responses from the winners in the LoL MSI 2024 T1 vs G2 post-match interview. We will add them to this section.

Faker from T1 explained what helped his team to stay confident in the match vs G2 Esports.

The player was somewhat criticized for his performance, but this time he managed to clutch every situation in his favor. What‘s the mindset behind this?

The host asked what’s happening in the head of Faker when he closes his eyes and remains still for a while during his matches.

It’s good to look into the future after such matches.

T1 defeated G2 Esports in the very first match of the MSI 2024 Bracket Stage. It was a really close fight, and the European team had a good chance for victory. Still, the Korean players were stronger at that time.

After that, T1 faced BLG in the upper bracket semifinal — and they lost 1:3. Both teams looked strong in that match. Bilibili Gaming just used their chances better.

In the lower brackets, T1 defeated Team Liquid. It felt like they left no hope for North Americans in that fight. Can they eliminate the last Western team at the LoL MSI 2024?

After their loss to T1, G2 Esports recovered and defeated PSG Talon. Well, it would be fair to say that they destroyed these opponents in the lower bracket quarterfinal. 

Being among the top 4 teams at such a tournament is quite a statement. Can G2 go even further at the MSI 2024?

The next opponent for the winning team is already known. In the upper bracket final, BLG lost to Gen.G Esports. Now, the Chinese team has to win the MSI lower bracket final to reach the grand final. For everything about these matches and League of Legends in general, stick around on esports.gg!