MSI 2023 continued today with the last of the lower bracket quarterfinals between Gen.G Esports and Cloud9, with the loser being eliminated.
headline image courtesy of LoL Esports
Cloud9 remained the final hope of the Western League of Legends fans after G2 Esports was eliminated from the Mid-Season Invitational 2023 yesterday. Unfortunately for the North Americans, they would have to face up against a team which is one of the tournament favourites, the winners of the LCK Spring 2023, Gen.G Esports. With a lower bracket semi-final spot against Bilibili Gaming on the line and tournament lives, the series was set for fireworks.
With a double-hook lineup featuring both Nautilus and Blitzcrank, Gen.G was unrelenting in their dominance in game one, destroying the C9 squad at every turn. The NA team only claimed four kills in total before things ended, as Gen.G took the lead in the best-of-five.
Game two did not get better for C9 at all, as Gen.G continued to absolutely destroy them at every turn. It was a near-flawless game from the LCK champions, with Han “Peanut” Wang-ho’s Wukong being an unstoppable force which helped secure the victory, as they moved to match point. It was a far more entertaining game three for the NA fans, as C9 managed to finally find their footing in the series, claiming some fantastic kills across the board. However, even with their brilliance, Gen.G was still ahead at every stage.
It did not take long for Gen.G to show their strength, as they Aced C9 twice and closed out the series with a 3-0 clean sweep. With that, the NA team would see their MSSI 2023 dreams come crashing down, while Gen.G Esports would continue forward to face Bilibili Gaming – leaving us with an LPL versus LCK battle for a champion.
