Image credit: LoL Esports
Top Esports secure an upper bracket semifinal spot after they defeated Team Liquid at the Mid-Season Invitational.
The LPL drew first blood on the Mid-Season Invitational Bracket Stage as Top Esports ran rampant against Team Liquid and dropped the LCS number one seed to the lower bracket. This now means that Top has solidified a top-six spot at MSI at the very least after an impressive showing that saw them defeat Liquid in three straight games.
Top will now await the winner between Gen.G Esports and Fnatic, which will take place tomorrow to determine their next opponent. As for Liquid, they aren't done quite yet as they will still have a chance in the lower bracket. However, it will be a longer climb for them as there will be more matches to come.
Given that Top came from the Play-In Stage, many had predicted that Liquid could prove to be too much for them to handle. After all, Top did drop one map against Fnatic on their road to the Bracket Stage. Unfortunately, Liquid could barely get a foothold during all three matches as Top proved to be too coordinated and efficient when it came to taking objectives.
Liquid were kept to under 10 kills in all three games, which goes to show just how well Top's macro was. All three matches also took Top under 30 minutes to end each time. The first game saw Top take a comfortable lead that also had them mow down turrets with ease, something Liquid couldn't replicate as they would get picked off each time.
The second game looked to be even worse for Liquid as Top doubled down on their assault as they were almost unstoppable at times. While Eain “APA” Stearns did get some key kills with Aurelion Sol, Jian “Creme” Lin proved to be too much for Liquid to handle as his Corki got seven kills with five assists and a sole death. It's also worth noting that this was Creme's single death in the entire series.
The last match of the series proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Liquid. Instead of a spirited comeback, Top made sure to put any notion of that to rest as Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo had another stellar game on Lucian. He managed six kills, six assists, and two deaths.
