This article is part of our LoL Recap series.
The drums of war (quite literally during that opening ceremony) sounded the beginning of the Group Stage of the Mid-Season Invitational in Rio de Janeiro. Six teams from across the globe began campaigns to earn a spot in the Knockout Stage. Here's how Day 1 went down.
G2 Esports vs SK Telecom T1
G2 Esports struck early against SK Telecom, picking up the first kill of the tournament at just under a minute during a five-man invade on SKT mid-lane ace Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok's Syndra; it was the fastest first blood in MSI history. SKT quickly recovered, despite G2 making proactive team plays throughout the early game in the bottom lane. Showing its methodical, smothering playstyle that it had developed in South Korea, SKT took a 7,100 gold lead at 31 minutes alongside three Cloud Drakes and an Ocean Drake, dominating objectives with ease. Grinding its way into G2's base, SKT was unstoppable as the preliminary tournament favorites took a 43-minute Elder Dragon shortly before taking the win over European champions G2 in just under 44 minutes.
Team WE vs Flash Wolves
The second game of the day saw LMS champions Flash Wolves and China's Team WE square off in a bloody fight to the finish. Team WE rallied behind top laner Ke "957" Chang-Yu's crazy Kled play, who picked up several kills in the early game to snowball out of control. While lauded Flash Wolves jungler Hung "Karsa" Hau-Hsuan's Lee Sin had an impressive early game for himself, 957 was unstoppable after starting a 3-for-0 fight around 14 minutes and receiving a Rift Herald buff, leading to a mid-game WE lead. After a spectacular escape from 957 broke Flash Wolves' ankles and gave WE time for a Baron kill, the top laner again led the charge with a 7/0/4 KDA (kills/deaths/assists) in a final 5-for-1 ace in FW's base to secure the win in just under 30 minutes.
Team SoloMid vs. Gigabyte Marines
In a rematch from the Play-In stage of the tournament, Gigabyte MARINES took on North America's Team SoloMid in the third match of the day. The North American champions looked lost, giving GAM top laner Phan "Stark" Cong Minh two free kills as Gragas in botched tower dives. TSM looked to come back with a series of teamfight wins around 18 minutes, but MARINES eventually took control thanks to poor macro play from TSM. This came to a head when, after winning a 3-for-1 teamfight in GAM's jungle thanks to flashy plays from AD carry Jason "WildTurtle" Tran on Twitch, TSM stayed too long in the bottom lane for a turret, getting collapsed on after GAM respawned. A drawn out 4-for-0 teamfight later, and Gigabyte MARINES took an upset win in 36 minutes.
Flash Wolves vs G2 Esports
G2 Esports at the 2017 Mid Season Invitational. Provided by Riot Games
Flash Wolves looked to redeem itself against G2 Esports, and seemed to have a good start when Karsa's Rengar helped FW pick up several kills after a late first blood at 18 minutes. Flash Wolves began to find picks with frightening consistency throughout the mid game, leading to a large gold lead. After a 1-for-0 fight and Baron around 41 minutes, the Flash Wolves were in control, but G2 fought back with isolated kills while defending its base. In the end, G2 found itself attempting a Baron kill when it turned to fight Flash Wolves, taking an overall 4-for-0 fight on the back of AD carry Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen's Caitlyn, who dealt a game-high 53,700 damage to enemy champions, as G2 secured the 46-minute comeback victory.
SK Telecom T1 vs Gigabyte Marine
SKT and Marines next took to the Rift, where GAM picked up first blood on SKT top laner Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon's Rumble. Things quickly turned sour, however, as SKT took control across the map in the mid game thanks to good map play from jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho's Lee Sin. In a bloody affair for both sides, SKT held a kill lead of 18-to-11 at the 22-minute mark, along with a 4-to-0 tower lead and two Mountain Drakes. It was all business for SKT as it demolished GAM in a clean win in just under 27 minutes.
Team SoloMid vs Team WE
In the final game of the day, Team SoloMid and Team WE squared off in a battle of top laners. Team WE struck first with a series of ganks in the bottom lane for two kills by six minutes in, but TSM recovered nicely, taking a gold lead through Kevin "Hauntzer" Yarnell's pressure in the top lane as Kennen. TSM then secured a 1-for-0 and Baron buff, snowballing thanks to clever ultimates from TSM mid laner Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg's Taliyah. TSM seemed to recover from its embarrassing loss earlier in the day as it took its time in dismantling WE's defenses, finally finishing the game in 39 minutes on the back of a Hauntzer triple kill, part of his 6/0/3 KDA for 90 percent kill participation.
The action continues Thursday at 2 p.m. ET with SK Telecom taking on Team SoloMid, followed by a full day of Group Stage play.
