Image: LoL Esports
T1 completed a clean sweep of wins against MAD Lions in a best-of-five series for the MSI 2023 Bracket Stage.
T1 have always been a strong contender to keep track of in MSI year after year, but few were probably expecting the team to put on such a dominating performance against 
MAD Lions this week. Both teams came to a head in a best-of-five series for the Bracket Stage of MSI 2023, but MAD Lions were hopelessly outmatched and dropped three rounds in a row, giving T1 a clean 3-0 win.
Bouncing back from a loss to Gen.G in the LCK Spring 2023 Grand Finals, T1 kicked off the first round of this best-of-five by making some aggressive plays against the opposing team. MAD Lions scored first blood against Faker here, who lost the upper hand during an early teamfight, and Oner soon after for a double kill. This was a strong start for the team, but T1 was looking to claw their way back out of a disadvantageous early start.
T1 hit the ground running after that, picking up kills but still falling behind the Lions by the midgame. A lategame brawl for a drake saw T1 finally come out on top, wiping the Lions out and using that opening to charge into the enemy base and clinch a win. Quite a comeback.
Not even 10 minutes into the second round, the Lions scored a shockingly early First Blood against T1’s Oner. The latter team has been playing riskily in the early phase of both rounds here, and it was starting to bear consequences. This round however, T1 had little issue bouncing back from that slippery start to pick up more kills and gold heading into the midgame, giving them quite the lead over the Lions. T1 steamrolled the opposing team for the rest of this game, and shut things down 24 minutes in.
The third and final round of the day saw the Lions’ poor performance snowball into their worst loss yet. MAD scored First Blood here once again, which meant little considering T1 picked up a kill not two seconds later. The Lions appeared to be utterly out of their depth for the rest of this matchup, with T1 at a nine-kill lead 10 minutes into the game and well on their way to pick up objectives. T1 had managed to turn the tables on such odds themselves in Round One, but the Lions simply weren’t up to the task. With two dragons and an advantage in every category that matters, T1 broke the Lions’ base open and scooped up a victory in a mere 16 minutes and 48 seconds.
With this 3-0 win, T1 will now go against Gen.G, in what looks to be an intense rematch following the former team’s loss in the LCK Spring 2023 Grand Finals. MAD Lions on the other hand, are headed to the lower bracket. Tomorrow, we’ll see 
Cloud9 face off against 
Bilibili Gaming.
