G2 Esports and Gen.G Esports kicked things off for what would be the first out of fourteen best-of-five series in the MSI 2023 Bracket Stage.
headline image courtesy of Gen.G
With an unbeatable performance during the Play-In Stage, 
G2 Esports managed to secure their spot in the Bracket Stage of MSI 2023. Having finished fourth in last year’s iteration of the event, the team was hoping to recapture their 2019 glory victory – but in their path right from the start would be tough opposition in 
Gen.G. Having taken down what seemed like an unstoppable T1 in the LCK Spring 2023 grand finals, Gen.G was looking to push forward in the upper bracket.
G2 opened things up claiming the famed 
Steven “hans sama” Liv Draven to bolster their lineup in the first game – and early on it seemed to be the correct choice. However, as the game progressed, Gen. G began to show their strengths, claiming Dragon objectives and finding perfect pickoffs to eventually take the lead – with 
Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon Ahri ending with a perfect 6/0/15.
Next up was the Peyz show, as the rookie’s Aphelios took the fight right to the G2 lineup, as he built up to his Galeforce and Bloodthirster in only 13 minutes, with 9 kills under his belt. The LCK champions had some fun before they obliterated the Nexus to claim their second game in the series, ripping through G2 with ease. It took them two massive losses but G2 finally found their footing in the next game, executing fantastic team fights and finding great pickoffs, among the many errors of Gen.G, to gain an advantage and bring themselves one game back into things.
With the wind in their sails, G2 heard the calls of the London crowd and showed some brilliance throughout the early and mid-game period of game four. But as the two teams went into a deadlock, a simple error in positioning around Baron caused a full team wipe as G2 fell. With one final swing, Gen.G closed out the game and the series, taking a 3-1 victory.
For G2, MSI 2023 is far from over, as they now head down to the lower bracket, while Gen.G moves forward in the upper bracket where they are expected to find a rematch of the LCK Spring 2023 grand finals against T1. However, T1 will need to face MAD Lions on May 10th before that can be decided.
