MSI 2023 continued its play-in stage action today with the LLA taking on the LPL in the first series, as both teams looked to avoid the lower bracket.
headline photo courtesy of LoL Esports
Latin America’s Rainbow7 were back at the Mid Seasonal Invitational, having last played in the event as an organisation in 2018. However, their opponents, coming in as runners-up of the LPL Spring 2023 event were looking to make their name felt as their organisation, Bilibili Gaming, was at their first-ever international League of Legends events. Following in the path of Day 1 of MSI 2023’s play-in stage, it was a brutal 2-0 sweep for one team, with no real chance for the opposition to show off much of their talent.
BLG came out swinging, even against an Olaf top and a Gragas mid-lane from R7, which could have thrown a spanner into the works for the team. The focus on empowering the bottom lane was clear, as Elk’s Lucian claimed a full five-plate tower before the 11-minute mark, while Bin’s top lane K’Sante kept up in a magnificent solo lane performance. Once the snowball had begun, there was no stopping it, as BLG ran away with the victory.
As the teams came out onto the Rift for the second game, it was clear that Elk would control the game again. Not only did he help BLG claim all 15 turret plates with his Jinx, but he concluded with a quadra-kill, as BLG closed things out in only 23 minutes and secured themselves an upper bracket spot in round 2 of the play-in stage.
Unfortunately for R7, they could not find their footing against the LPL runners-up and would drop into the lower bracket. Their opponents would be decided in the second series of the day, as Golden Guardians went up against GAM Esports. The Latin Americans will now have to endure a gruelling lower bracket of elimination series if they want to make it through to the next stage of MSI 2023.
