LoL: T1 will face Gen.G in the MSI final after eliminating AL

T1 have qualified for the grand final of the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational after eliminating LPL's first seed, Anyone's Legend, in a five-game Lower Bracket Final. The reigning World Champions will face Gen.G, who will be looking to defend the MSI title they claimed in 2024. The final will take place on Saturday, July 12 at 5 PM PST. Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun was named MVP of the series after a standout performance from the South Korean jungler.

Just a few days ago, T1 had already faced Gen.G in the Upper Bracket Final, where Gen.G came out on top with a narrow 3-2 victory. Today, it was Anyone's Legend who suffered the same fate—but this time, in an elimination match. The LPL champions still had an impressive run in their first international appearance: after defeating FlyQuest in the opening round, AL, like T1, fell 3-2 to Gen.G before dropping to the lower bracket and eliminating both CTBC Flying Oyster and Bilibili Gaming.

Yet it was AL who struck first in the series opener. Despite T1 drafting comfort picks like Galio, Jhin, and Vi, AL showed no fear against the reigning world champions and took the first game. T1 quickly answered back in Game 2 with a dominant stomp—Oner’s Lee Sin dismantled AL’s topside draft built around Yorick and Trundle. The first match point then went to the Chinese side after a stellar performance from Lee "Tarzan" Seung-yong on Xin Zhao. Cui "Shanks" Xiao-Jun dealt over 30,000 damage on Viktor, putting AL just one win away from reaching the first international final in the club’s history.

Game 4 started well for AL with a big botside fight going in their favor. But as has often been the case this split, when T1 are in trouble, it's Oner who brings the spark. On an exceptional Lillia performance, he landed a four-man ultimate after securing the soul, dragging T1 into a decisive Game 5. Oner looked locked in, seemingly determined to get his rematch against Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu.

For the final game, AL drafted Twisted Fate mid. And while stats don’t tell the whole story, the champion’s 0% win rate should’ve been a red flag. Tarzan was on Olaf in the jungle. The early game was fairly slow, with AL picking up the first few objectives. But T1's comp was built around Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong’s Jinx—and with that champion in his hands, one kill usually means another. The resets kept coming, Oner’s Skarner ultimates consistently found their targets, and T1 steamrolled their way to victory. As has often been the case at this MSI, Game 5s have rarely been close.