G2 Esports eliminates T1 from MSI 2026 in a historic victory

T1 had won every best-of-five against G2 Esports since 2019, turning one of League of Legends' most recognizable rivalries into a one-sided affair. But at MSI 2026, G2 finally found their answer, sweeping the reigning world champions 3-1 and knocking them out of the tournament.

The result sends into the next round of the lower bracket, where they will face LYON in a historic EMEA vs NA match for a place in the Lower Bracket Final. T1, meanwhile, left the tournament after an undefeated Play-In run, a hard-fought match against Bilibili Gaming, and a dominant 3-0 sweep of FURIA.

Today is G2's first best-of-five victory over since the legendary MSI 2019 semifinal and their first international series win against the Korean giants in seven years. It also marks the first time T1 have been eliminated before the top four of an international event they compete in, closing one of the longest-running streak of dominance in LoL Esports.

The biggest difference between this series and G2's previous encounters with T1 was their ability to stay composed. G2 entered the matchup with strong drafts, clear win conditions, and the confidence to play their own style instead of being dragged into T1's pace.

In the opening game — the longest match of MSI 2026 so far — G2 survived more than 45 minutes of back-and-forth action before their double ADC composition took over in the late game. Against a T1 side known for winning those situations, G2 stayed patient and trusted their scaling.

And game two followed a similar pattern, with T1 finding early advantages but G2 slowly taking control through better objective setups and cleaner teamfights. However, T1 reminded everyone in game three why they are the greatest teams in LoL Esports history.

After falling behind 0-2, T1 came out aggressively and punished G2's mistakes time and time again throughout the game. Mun "" Hyeon-jun’s Lee Sin created early pressure, while T1's bottom lane repeatedly picked on G2 members out of position. Once T1 gained a lead around the mid game, they closed the game with confidence, using Baron's buff control and decisive teamfights to force a series.

But game four became the defining moment of the series and one of the most entertaining games in recent years.

With their tournament lives on the line, T1 and G2 played a game where neither side was willing to take unnecessary risks. Every objective became a battle, and every teamfight had the potential to decide the entire series. T1's main win condition was Kim "" Soo-hwan, whose damage output kept them alive in several key moments, and, as the broadcast highlighted, T1 couldn't take fights without him being able to deal damage, making him the player G2 needed to contain.

On the other side, Sergen "" Çelik's Kled became G2's biggest advantage on the Rift, creating constant side-lane pressure and forcing T1 to respond to his plays. Around the 31-minute mark, T1 looked ready to take control of the match after Peyz secured a pentakill in a massive baron fight, but G2 immediately got back at them at the next Dragon fight, finding the opening they needed to regain the lead in the game.

From there, the game turned into a test of discipline.

G2 secured Baron and began pushing into T1's base, but the reigning champions refused to bow down. Even while behind, T1 continued finding ways to delay the game, trading kills and forcing G2 to remain careful, as one mistake could still have completely changed the sort of the game. G2 pushed and destroyed T1's inhibitors but were forced to step back. T1 managed to secure Elder Dragon as few G2 members were down and briefly extended the game, but the buff expired before they could turn it into a winning push.

When G2 returned sieging T1 base with another Baron buff, T1 found one final engage. Oner landed a massive Wukong Ult followed by Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok's Galio, and, for a moment, it looked like another legendary T1 comeback was on the horizon.

But the MVP of the series, G2 toplaner BrokenBlade, kept pushing forward on his Kled, ignoring the chaos around him and taking down the Nexus before T1 could react.

After years of falling short against T1, G2 finally found the answer, outlasting their pressure and finally closing the games that had slipped away for the past seven years.