With the Mid-Season Invitational around the corner, the excitement has begun building up for what is sure to be a great three weeks of competition. As with any tournament, there are a few thoughts and questions floating around as the tournament is set to start, MSI is no different. With that being said, let’s take a look at three thoughts going into the start of MSI and what it could mean for the tournament.
Courtesy of: @FBespor Twitter
This question needs to be asked every time at the start of an international tournament. Ever since GIGABYTE Marines originally won the hearts of thousands with their amazing play, fans have been waiting for the next big thing from a wildcard region. This year, the field of wildcard teams looks solid and could mean that at least one of them can have some decent results.
This year, the teams leading the field of wildcard hopefuls are Turkey’s 1907 Fenerbahçe Esports and Vietnam’s Phong Vũ Buffalo. However, as both teams find themselves in Group A we’ll only see one of them get a shot at qualifying into the main stage. In the end, recent performance would point to Fenerbahçe as the team to get that opportunity as the team as Fenerbahçe looks like the most complete and best wildcard team at the moment. Now the question remains, will Fenerbahçe, or any wildcard team for that matter, put up a fight against the main region teams? Or will they go out with a whimper? Only time will tell.
Courtesy of: LCK Flickr
The super team SK Telecom T1 are set to make their return to the international stage after a year-long absence. With the scope of the international scene changing and Korea no longer being the favorites as a region, how will SKT do in their return?
While SKT has shown that they’re capable of playing the aggressive style that has been the meta at international events. But Korea as a whole still tended to play the safe and slow style they’re accustomed to during LCK. As a result, even if SKT can adapt and play the aggressive style, it’s questionable as to if they can play as well as the likes of Invictus Gaming and G2 Esports. In the end, the roster as a whole is still one of the most talented at the tournament and no matter what the meta is SKT will have a solid shot at bringing glory back to Korea.
They’ve gone through the growing pains, now is the time for SKT to bring their best and win it all. The fate of their region depends on it.
Courtesy of: lolesports Flickr
Liquid fourth. That’s something most fans haven’t heard in a long time. What was once a very real curse and meme for the Team Liquid organization, has now become a thing of the past. But coming into MSI, this old curse could make a quick cameo appearance.
While Team Liquid has looked amazing in the LCS, they come into MSI with G2 Esports, Invictus Gaming, and SK Telecom T1 as their opponents. Unfortunately for TL, it’s hard to make an argument that they’re better than any of those three teams. Although TL is being somewhat underrated in ongoing conversations about the teams attending, it’s hard to see TL taking a BO5 series against any of these three teams in the long run. While it would be great for TL to prove fans and analysts wrong, they’ll have to play at their highest level for a chance to do so.
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