Image: Riot Games
The last two matches of MSI 2022’s Rumble Stage saw big wins from T1 and G2 Esports.
MSI 2022’s Rumble Stage is over! The tournament will soon move into the semifinals, but two teams won’t make it there: Saigon Buffalo and PSG Talon. Both teams have been eliminated from contention, but the last two matches saw Royal Never Give Up and T1 come out on top in rankings. Here’s a quick recap:
First up, Evil Geniuses versus G2 Esports. G2 has not won a single game since it had its winning streak broken by T1 a few days ago, which makes quite the fall from grace for one of the best-performing teams of the tournament thus far. While EG had a gold lead in the midgame, G2 had two dragons and a turret down - giving them an opportunity to catch up quickly. Neither team had a big lead over the other by the 26-minute mark however, which means that this could’ve gone either way in the lategame.
While a fight near EG’s base ended in its favour, it did draw the team away while G2’s Caps managed to down both a turret and an inhibitor on the left. G2 took a gold lead to poke into EG’s base and after wiping out the enemy team, G2 took the win here. With this, G2 has finally bounced back from what was surely a frustrating streak of losses for the team.
T1’s match against RNG was fairly straightforward. T1 showed great map awareness here, picking up kills without leaving objectives vulnerable. RNG put on a good show, but with a gold lead allowing T1 better firepower, T1 swooped right into the enemy’s base and left a pile of destruction in their wake. This is only RNG’s second loss in the Rumble Stage, a testament to the team’s overall consistency in this tournament - even if it wavers from time to time.
And so, the Rumble Stage ends. The three tournament favourites - G2, RNG and T1 - will all advance to the Knockout Stage, so no surprises there. While SGB performed well in the Group Stage, they will not advance along with PSG. EG will go ahead to the Knockout Stage, with a chance to redeem the underdogs eventually. Here are the final Rumble Stage standings:
