Welcome to MSI 2026, here are your complimentary 3-0s to kick off the event

If anyone had any doubt that this League of Legends' Mid Season Invitational was going to be exciting, the first day of the event changed their minds. MSI 2026 opened with two best-of-five series, two 3-0 sweeps but very different stories hidden behind the same scoreline.

defeated 3-0 after a series that swung between near upsets and controlled late-game mastery, while also secured a clean sweep over to join them in the winners’ bracket. Both winners advance undefeated and will now face each other next, while TL and DCG drop down to the elimination side of the bracket, where their tournament lives are immediately on the line.

Unusual champion picks and very different playstyles colliding were to be expected from the second international event of the LoL Esports' season. And while the scorelines on paper might indicate a swift event, the players' performances actually delivered a surprisingly interesting mix of throws and comebacks, making fans hope for an MSI defined less by clean 3-0s and more by whoever survives the madness of each single game played on stage.

The opening match of MSI 2026 between T1 and TL ended as most had expected, but the absolute end score doesn't make justice to the entertaining games played on stage. Coming into the best-of-five as heavy favorites, T1 were expected to advance, but TL proved they were ready for the challenge with strong drafts, well-planned early games, and solid laning, especially from Park "Morgan" Ru-han. However, in the end, T1's teamfighting ability, once again, made the difference.

In classic LoL Esports’ international event fashion, the first game kicked off slow as both teams were cautious not to make the first mistake.

Action exploded around the 10-minute mark, where T1's superior skirmishing started to slowly build a gold lead while consistently coming out ahead in fights across the map. Even when T1 found themselves in a difficult position during a late teamfights, they relied on their mechanical skills to turn the fight around and secure the game after just 23 minutes.

However, Team Liquid were not going down without a fight, and in the second game of the series, they fought with all their might. Their teamfight-heavy comp paid off with a huge four-for-one fight at around 13 minutes, putting T1 on the brink of defeat, and for a moment it looked like LCS representatives had finally cracked the LCK powerhouse. Instead, T1 patiently clawed their way back into the game by punishing every small mistake TL made, stretched the match to 35 minutes, and won one final decisive teamfight to complete a stunning comeback. The victory also gave Faker his 100th career MSI win, making him the first player ever to reach the milestone.

Needing just one more win to close out the series, T1 stayed in control throughout the third game after picking up an early advantage, never giving TL a real chance to recover. The reigning World Champions secured every dragon, kept the map under control, and eventually baited TL into a Baron fight where Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan's Zeri tore through the final teamfight to complete the sweep.

Despite the disappointing result, TL showed they had the drafts and early game ideas needed to challenge T1, but when the biggest moments arrived, T1's experience, coordination, and world-class execution once again made all the difference.

Coming into the series, KC were the clear favorites, but DCG's aggressive style was expected to test the LEC representatives, and while at times it did, KC defeated the LCP team with a 3-0.

The first game—once again—was a slow yet chaotic start of the series, where DCG controlled the Rift initially, but they failed to turn that advantage into a decisive lead. Instead, one Baron fight completely flipped the game, giving KC the opening they needed to fight their way back and take the first point of the series.

And any hopes of a long series quickly faded in the second game as KC took complete control of the Rift from the start. Building an almost 8k gold lead by the 14-minute mark, KC shut down every attempt from DCG to get back into the game and never took their foot off the pedal. "This game has been over for quite some time," said the official broadcast at the 20-minute mark as KC got the baron buff and marched on DCG base and won their second game of MSI 2026.

In the last game of the series DCG had moments where they looked like the dangerous opponent they could have been, with the underdogs finding several strong skirmishes before KC gradually took over the map through cleaner objective control and better teamfighting. As the pressure mounted, DCG continued to overcommit and position poorly in fights, mistakes that KC punished every single time. 30 min in the game and KC was knocking at DCG base, but in an attempt at taking the LCP representatives' Nexus KC had to call off the siege.

With the number advantage on their side, DCG move to take the Baron buff to attempt a reverse sweep, but it only delayed the inevitable. KC attack once more DCG's nexus and seal the second 3-0 for the first day of MSI 2026.

Tomorrow, KC will go up against T1, and one between TL and DCG will have to leave the tournament.