MSI 2025, July 2nd Bracket Stage Starts With Gen GT1

Jun 29, 2025

MSI 2025, July 2nd Bracket Stage Starts With Gen GT1





The international competition '2025 MSI (Mid Season Invitational)', featuring Gen.G and T1 of LCK (Korea), opened at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada on the 28th (hereinafter Korean time), and the two teams' schedules will begin in earnest on July 2.

Thanks to LCK's Hanwha Life e-Sports winning the first international competition this year, Gen.G and T1 will skip the play-in stage and start with the bracket stage (quarterfinal). First of all, as expected in the play-in stage, LPL (China) powerhouse Billy Gaming was the first to join the quarterfinals, and on the 30th, the winner of LEC (Europe) G2 e-sports and LPC (Asia-Pacific) No. 2 seed GAM e-sports will win the ticket to the last eight.




Gen.G and T1 can be said to represent not only LCK but also the whole world. With both teams having the experience of winning the MSI, they challenge another record.

First of all, Gen.G is the defending champion who won the MSI last year. Until now, Gen.G has reigned as the strongest player in LCK, but has been particularly weak in international competitions, not exceeding the threshold of the semifinals or higher in MSI and LoL World Championship. However, he won the MSI title for the first time in a row at last year's tournament, recording three consecutive wins against LPL's TES and Billibilli. In particular, China has won five MSIs in its past nine MSIs and was strong enough to try to win for four consecutive years last year, so Gen.G's victory was worth more if it was prevented.

Gen.G won all 18 games in the first and second rounds after the opening of LCK this season, and in the MSI national team selection match, it is highly likely that it will lose two consecutive games as it has reached MSI as the No. 1 seed in LCK with a scary concentration of losing 0-2 to Hanwha Life Insurance and winning three to five sets.




T1 is the champion of the international competition. This is the fourth year in a row and eight all-time MSIs, winning two and finishing second in the previous seven tournaments. However, it has never been able to lift the trophy since the 2017 tournament due to China's momentum.

In the LCK 1st and 2nd rounds, he finished third behind Gen.G and Hanwha Life Insurance, but he beat KT Rolster and Hanwha Life Insurance in the best-of-five series to compete in the MSI as the No. 2 seed in the national selection match, so this tournament also has considerable competitiveness. Therefore, if he wins this tournament, he will become the second team to win the MSI three times after LPL's RNG.

Of course, the strongest competitors are China's AL (Annie One's Legend) and Bilibili. The AL will play in the MSI for the first time since its foundation with Korean players 'Tarzan'Lee Seung-yong and 'Kael'Kim Jin-hong. Bilibili is strong enough to win the MSI runner-up for the second consecutive time until last year, and is still strong enough to reach the quarterfinals by beating both GAM and G2 3-0 in the play-in stage.




Movistar Koy, who played in the MSI for the first time in history by pushing G2 to the second seed in the LEC, is also considered a dark horse as he has rarely faced LCK teams. This is because European teams, including G2, have repeatedly caught the Korean team's ankle in international competitions.

Meanwhile, the biggest variable of this competition is of course the 'Peerless Draft', a way in which the champion used in the previous set can never be used again. Since all games are played in the best-of-five series, of course, teams with a wide range of champ utilization have no choice but to be advantageous. It is clear that it will develop more interestingly with the emergence of many champs and variables, as a van-pick pattern is clearly developing.

The total prize amount is $2 million, up eight times from the previous year, and additional prizes such as profits from the sale of the Soul's Flower Hway skin will be reflected. In addition, the winning team was automatically given a direct ticket to the 2025 LoL World Cup finals, and additional seeds were given to the region according to their performance, increasing the importance of the final performance of each regional team.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.