The World Champions played with the hearts of their fans again. There was a moment when CTBC Flying Oyster could win. For CFO, it was an exceptional performance!
The League of Legends (LoL) esports event Mid Season Invitational 2025 (MSI 2025) is approaching its peak excitement. We witnessed the opening Bracket Stage matches with all eight participants. Some teams made it to the upper semis quite confidently — but that’s not the case with T1.
CFO, the Champions of the League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP), turned out to be quite strong opponents. They reached the match point first, and they were pretty close to closing the series in Game 4.
In the recent period, specifically during the LCK Road to MSI split, T1 has a somewhat weird tradition of starting slowly, reaching the verge of elimination, and then striking with their full power. In a way, this was a script for T1’s opening match at MSI 2024.
T1 vs CFO at League of Legends MSI 2025, Brackets Stage Round 1
Like with other opening matches of the MSI 2025 Brackets Stage, such as Gen.G vs G2, this one wasn’t an elimination battle. T1 vs CFO played for advancing to the upper semifinals, which is also a great achievement: three steps from the title. However, the losers still have their chance to reach the grand final, even if it requires one extra match.
T1 3:2 CFO — T1 win the series
Game | Winner |
|---|---|
| 1 | T1 |
| 2 | CFO |
| 3 | CFO |
| 4 | T1 |
| 5 | T1 |
Champion bans and picks
Game | T1 bans | CFO bans |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taliyah, Azir, Xayah, Rell, Alistar | Varus, Gwen, Twisted Fate, Kalista, Lucian |
| 2 | Taliyah, Azir, Rumble, Galio, Cassiopeia | Gwen, Varus, Twisted Fate, Poppy, Ambessa |
| 3 | Taliyah, Yorick, Varus, Nautilus, Rell | Twisted Fate, Xayah, Azir, Jhin, Miss Fortune |
| 4 | Taliyah, Yorick, Ornn, Rell, Alistar | Twisted Fate, Xayah, Azir, Lee Sin, Nocturne |
| 5 | Taliyah, Azir, Yorick, Nocturne, Ahri | Lee Sin, Twisted Fate, Renekton, Lulu, Alistar |
T1 picks | T1 | Position | CTBC Flying Oyster | CFO picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aatrox (G1) Jax (G2) Gwen (G3) Rumble (G4) Jayce (G5) | Doran | Top | Driver | Sion (G1) K'Sante (G2) Gragas (G3) Ambessa (G4) Ornn (G5) |
| Xin Zhao (G1) Wukong (G2) Zed (G3) Jarvan IV (G4) Sejuani (G5) | Oner | Jungle | JunJia | Pantheon (G1) Vi (G2) Trundle (G3) Skarner (G4) Zyra (G5) |
| Annie (G1) Ryze (G2) Azir (G3) Sylas (G4) Orianna (G5) | Faker | Mid | HongQ | Viktor (G1) Aurora (G2) Swain (G3) Cassiopeia (G4) Tristana (G5) |
| Corki (G1) Kalista (G2) Senna (G3) Varus (G4) Jinx (G5) | Gumayusi | Bot | Doggo | Ezreal (G1) Lucian (G2) Caitlyn (G3) Jhin (G4) Xayah (G5) |
| Neeko (G1) Renata Glasc (G2) Thresh (G3) Poppy (G4) Tahm Kench (G5) | Keria | Support | Kaiwing | Leona (G1) Nami (G2) Braum (G3) Nautilus (G4) Rakan (G5) |
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Match recap
Ahead of this match, it was easy to expect T1 to dominate and rush to face their next opponents. The odds on the popular LoL betting platforms certainly reflected that. However, T1 made their fans nervous.
Game 1 was a back-and-forth one. Both teams had strong periods, and at some point, it looked like CFO got the pace and accumulated enough power to snowball to the win. T1 recovered and quickly built their victorious advantage.
It was CFO who dominated Games 2 and 3. First, they started slowly to eventually bring their advantage to unbreakable.
In Game 3, CFO had a gold lead even before the five-minute point and took the process to the logical end.
CFO could finish the series here, but it did not happen. Even if T1 had a big lead throughout Game 4, they started losing the initiative drastically at around 27 minutes.
Still, CFO missed their chance, so T1 regained control and saved the series.
The decisive game between T1 and CFO in Round 1 of LoL Esports MSI 2025 gave a glimpse of hope for the LCP team. Still, T1 gained a stable advantage around the mid-game and did not let it disappear.
The upper semifinal and an elimination match: T1 vs BLG, CFO vs KOI
As the winners, T1 advance to the next upper brackets match: against BLG, who defeated KOI.
In fact, Bilibili Gaming has been playing at the MSI for much longer. The Chinese team finished their regional split second, so they started from the Play-In stage — and earned clear wins over GAM and G2.
For CFO, there is no more space for missteps. They fell into the elimination zone of the MSI 2025 lower brackets. CTBC Flying Oyster face the European League of Legends team, KOI, in lower Round 1.
Considering how strong CFO looked in the match vs T1, this team is certainly a power to reckon with and to keep an eye on.
The CFO vs KOI match is the first one on July 5. T1 vs BLG is the second match of that MSI 2025 tournament day.
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