FURIA Esports bow out of the competition in 7th-8th place.
It was another action-packed day at the 2026 League of Legends (LoL) Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2026, with the matchup between Bilibili Gaming (BLG) and LYON in the second round of the Upper Bracket, and the Lower Bracket Round 1 showdown between T1and FURIA Esports.
In the end though, tournament favourites BLG and T1 stood strong, executing clean 3-0 sweeps against their respective opponents.
BLG reached the second round of the Upper Bracket after surviving a five-game battle against T1. The reigning World Champions took Game 1 before BLG answered in Games 2 and 3, but T1 fought back to force Silver Scrapes before the LPL side finally closed out Game 5 to take the series 3-2.
LYON had a much smoother path to the second round, sweeping FURIA Esports 3-0 in their Upper Bracket opener to set up their clash against BLG.
Meanwhile, T1 had already fought their way through the Play-ins before securing their Bracket Stage spot with a 3-0 sweep of Team Liquid Alienware. Their first loss of MSI 2026 against BLG dropped them into the Lower Bracket, where another defeat would send them home.
Awaiting them were FURIA, who had also fallen from the Upper Bracket after their 3-0 loss to LYON, leaving both teams fighting for survival in the tournament.
Here’s how the matches went.
BLG sweep LYON 3-0
Although LPL’s Bilibili Gaming swept LYON 3-0, the series delivered plenty of action, with LYON fighting back and going toe-to-toe with BLG in each game.
Game 1 was a slow-paced affair, with both teams trading back and forth. LYON were no slouches, picking up more kills in the early game and catching up to BLG’s gold lead.
The gold remained even from the mid-game onwards, and it would take only one team fight to finally break the game open. However, BLG had taken down more turrets, and when that one big fight finally erupted at the 30-minute mark, the LPL side outplayed LYON and cleaned them up with an ace. After a 32-minute encounter and with a narrow 12-11 kill lead, BLG took down LYON’s Nexus to win Game 1.
The second game was still a close one, with LYON continuing to fight back against BLG’s advances. The gold and kills remained mostly even until the late game, when team fights erupted around the Dragon and Baron pits.
However, it was BLG who came out on top, finally finding a gold lead. As BLG tried to break open LYON’s base, LYON continued to fight back. Yet BLG found their moment to break the base open again and destroy LYON’s Nexus after a 28-minute encounter, finishing with a 31-18 kill lead to win the second game and move to match point.
The third game was a bit closer than the second, with LYON trying to close the small gold gap between them and BLG. However, in a fight for the Dragon Soul that looked like it would go LYON’s way, BLG found an opportunity to turn the fight around, take the Dragon Soul and wipe out LYON with an Ace. After a lengthy 39-minute encounter, BLG marched down LYON’s base and destroyed the Nexus to win the third game and complete the series sweep.
With their win, BLG have become an Upper Bracket finalist, where they will face Hanwha Life Esports in the Upper Bracket Final on 9 July.
Meanwhile, LYON drop to Lower Bracket Round 2, where they will face LCP’s Team Secret Whales on 8 July.
T1 sweep FURIA Esports 3-0
The match between T1 and FURIA went differently, with T1 taking control through most of the games in the series. FURIA, however, were no slouches, trying to execute cheeky plays and fighting with everything they had as both teams battled for survival in the Lower Bracket.
The first game started quite slowly, with both teams on equal footing. T1 and FURIA traded blows, with FURIA playing aggressively against T1’s bot lane in the early game.
However, T1 kept their cool and maintained a modest lead until the late game. The reigning World Champions capitalised on FURIA’s mistakes and started to run away with the gold and kill lead, giving their opponents no room to execute a counterattack and get back on track. After nearly 34 minutes, T1 destroyed FURIA’s Nexus to win the first game.
The second game was a bit more fast-paced, as T1 and FURIA traded blows in the early game. However, T1 placed most of their gold onto Kim “Peyz” Su-hwan’s Caitlyn, supported by Ryu “Keria” Min-seok’s Lux.
As T1 found an edge, Peyz’s Caitlyn became unstoppable, making team fights easier for T1 as they overwhelmed FURIA at every turn in only a matter of minutes. After a 29-minute game and with a 14-7 kill lead, T1 finally took down FURIA’s Nexus to win the second game and move to match point.
Backs against the wall, FURIA went for early game picks against T1, preventing the reigning World Champions from running away with an early game lead. FURIA fought tooth-and-nail for almost every objective, gaining a kill lead against T1. However, the South Korean still kept the gold lead, finding scrappy plays and other ways to gain gold. A fight at the Baron pit erupted and went T1’s way, allowing T1 to take the Baron and finally giving them a decent gold gap, and a way to march down FURIA’s base.
However, FURIA refused to back down, cleaning up T1 in the jungle and closing the gold gap once again. Although FURIA fought hard, T1 still found an opportunity to turn the tides to their favour. And after a 32-minute encounter, T1 destroyed FURIA’s Nexus to win the third game and the series. With their win, T1 move forward to Lower Bracket Round 2, where they will face G2 Esports on 8 July.
Meanwhile, FURIA bow out of the competition in 7th to 8th place, taking home US$110,000 in consolation.
