The LPL came out on Top as it got LOUD at the Mid-Season Invitational.
Top Esports gave the home crowd fans something to cheer about when they defeated LOUD 2-0 in the closing series of day two at the Mid-Season Invitational. That win now means that Top will go up against Fnatic in the upper bracket finals of Group B to determine who will qualify to the Bracket Stage.
As for LOUD, they will have to go up against GAM Esports in the lower bracket in order to still be in the running for MSI. This was due to the earlier result when Fnatic was able to keep GAM at bay in two straight games. The winner between LOUD and GAM will go up against the loser between Fnatic and Top.
Being the LPL second seed, you can imagine that it got loud for Top, even if the CBLOL champions came with the namesake. Despite this being Top's MSI debut, the team is riddled with talent and experience alongside three different Worlds champions against LOUD, who were making its second straight MSI appearance.
And it didn't take Top long before they were able to comfortably take control of the first game, despite LOUD constantly knocking back. Both Yu “JackyLove” Wen-Bo and Tian “meiko” Ye were in the thick of it from the get-go as the bottom lane duo racked up 22 and 23 assists respectively out of the team's total 27 kills. But it was the young midlaner Jian “Creme” Lin that stole the show on Azir as he recorded nine kills, 11 assists, and only three deaths on his MSI debut.
Unfortunately for LOUD, their fortunes didn't change much in game two as they were never truly able to capitalise whenever they found themselves in a good position. Whether it be to push or take an objective, Top were always one step ahead and it showed. JackyLove ended up taking game two for Top as his Kalista got 13 kills with four assists and only two deaths, which accounted for over 70 per cent of the team's total kills.
However, it was meiko who once again proved why he's one of the more underrated support players in the LPL. Although his Renata Glasc didn't pick up any kills and died twice, he was still able to be a part of over 90 per cent of the team's total kills. He picked up 21 out of 23, which showed just how crucial he was in Top's every move against LOUD to get the 2-0 sweep.
MSI 2024 — Upper Bracket Finals
We will finally get to see the first two teams that will be joining the top four seeds in the Bracket Stage with the likes of Fnatic, Top Esports, T1, and FlyQuest all vying for a place in the next round. Here is how the schedule will look like:
Friday, May 3
T1
vs
FlyQuest — 4:00 p.m. GMT+8
Top Esports
vs
Fnatic — 7:00 p.m. GMT+8
