Image: Riot Games
Day 9 of MSI 2022 saw RNG rise to the top, while SGB sank to the bottom.
The third day of MSI 2022’s Rumble Stage has come to an explosive finish. After a series of intense matches, Royal Never Give Up is now in a commanding lead with G2 Esports and T1 coming in second, while Saigon Buffalo and PSG Talon sink to the bottom. Here’s a recap of the rest of today’s matches, after we covered the first two here.
The third match of the day saw Royal Never Give Up go up against Saigon Buffalo. This was a pretty uneven match. SGB has sat at the bottom of the rankings with zero wins until now, but RNG has thrived on top for a while now. RNG had the lead by the midgame, with one kill and 3k more gold in their pockets to spend. RNG continued into the lategame with more downed turrets than SGB, allowing them better map control and more firepower.
The rest of the game unfolded at a rather slow pace. RNG popped in twice into SGB’s base to destroy an inhibitor and promptly leave - not exactly the big explosive finish we’ve seen in other games today. RNG did score the win eventually here, but they weren't in any rush.
Next, T1 versus PSG Talon! PSG had a huge win earlier today, but the team still has lots of catching up to do. This match hit the ground running, with PSG and T1 playing aggressively and snagging any kill they could in the early game. PSG had the lead here, with one more kill and a bit more gold to use. T1 caught up quickly by destroying two turrets, giving them a big 4k gold lead. This berth of gold gave T1 a lot to work with, and the team continued to push forward into PSG territory until they got the win.
The penultimate game of the day saw G2 take on RNG. Both teams had four wins and a loss each, with the former coming off a freshly-broken winning streak. It took all of five minutes for RNG to score First Blood, which G2 one-upped by slaying their first dragon almost immediately after. RNG showed flawless map play here, keeping G2 on their toes and successfully taking down the first turret 13 minutes in. RNG’s Gala had close to 7k gold at this point, making him a rather intimidating Legend to fight so early on.
Four turrets down for RNG and 3k more gold, the team played pretty confidently in the lategame. G2 tried to push RNG off the Baron, but the teamfight that followed only handed RNG more kills against them. It’s clear that G2 wasn’t making good plays at this point, with little time left to turn things around. Pushing into G2’s base, Gala earned a godlike nod by eliminating Caps and his team dismantled the team with ease soon after. After a string of wins, G2 ended up having to eat two losses in the same day. Once undefeated, now twice-defeated. I could keep going, but I won't. Just like G2.
Final game for today: Evil Geniuses versus SGB. SGB desperately needed a win at this point, being placed at the bottom of the rankings with 0-5. EG was also just one position from dropping into the bottom two, so they needed a win too. First Blood struck five minutes in, going to EG. With seven kills to SGB’s five, EG continued to push in a fairly slow early game. SGB managed to get more turrets down, but by the lategame, EG had a whopping 12 kills over them. EG practically ran away with the victory here.
RNG tops today’s rankings at 5-1, while G2 and T1 come in second (and third) at 4-2. PSG and SGB are in danger as the bottom two teams right now at 2-4 and 0-6, respectively. Evil Geniuses is in a good place for now (3-3), but have to be careful not to slip into the bottom two over the next few days. SGB in particular is in a really tough spot right now, and it’s hard to see the team coming back from this. Stay tuned for our continued coverage of MSI 2022 tomorrow!
