T1 dominates over Bilibili Gaming, CTBC Flying Oyster eliminates Movistar KOI from MSI 2025

Mid-Season Invitational 2025 saw T1 Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok win his 200^th international League of Legends match with a dominant 3-0 victory over Worlds 2024 finalist Bilibili Gaming (BLG).

Faker’s achieved this milestone in the second Bracket Stage series of the day following Movistar KOI’s elimination from the tournament at the hands of CTBC Flying Oyster (CFO).

T1 dismantled its opponent in the first game on the back of a stellar performance from Faker on the Orianna. Despite being constant pressure from BLG, T1’s Unkillable Demon King remained unkillable and managed to catch BLG off guard in important team fights. Fed with 22-8 kills, Infernal Soul and a baron, the LCK team invaded BLG’s base in under 27 minutes.

The second game began in BLG’s favour after the LPL squad repeadtedly eliminated an isolated Choi ‘Doran’ Hyeon-jun. While the rest of T1 managed to deny a substantial gold lead for BLG, Faker farmed his way towards crucial powerspikes for his Viktor to later achieve a four-level advantage over his rival mid-laner. The momentum of the game shifted entirely when T1 stole the Atakhan to reach soul point. Within 33:36, Lee ‘Gumayusi’ Min-hyung’s Caitlyn helped his team end the game with an unofficial pentakill.

To avoid descending into the lower MSI bracket, BLG locked in a strong Ahri-Vi combo to make a final stand against T1. This time, it looked like the game could swing either way as both teams traded kills and objectives. However, T1 still managed to stack dragons and slay the first Baron throughout the chaos. The decisive team fight took place iwhen T1 threatened to rush another Baron.

The play turned out to be a trap luring BLG towards the Baron pit and allowing Doran to backstab the LPL team. With BLG wiped once more, its nexus was free for the taking after 33:30.

Prior to the T1 masterclass, LoL fans witnessed a batlle for survival between CFO and Movistar KOI (MKOI), the first seeds from the LPC and LEC.

Game one kicked off with a relatively drawn out series. Throughout over 38 minutes, CFO was firmly in control, benefitting from a strong Sion-Azir draft and successful fights in the early game. Although MKOI held on with even drakes, the opponent’s ever-growing lead gold lead became eventually insurmountable.

In the second game, CFO continued its dominance over the final EMEA roster at MSI. Once again, the LPL team suffocated its opponent with superior macro play to build significant lead in gold and flowers. Capitalising on impactful setups from Ling ‘Kaiwing’ Kai-wingon Bart, CFO reached match point at 33:29.

Facing tournament elimination, MKOI gambled on an unconventional Irelia pick for a strong top-lane match-up against Yorick. Meanwhile, CFO went for a draft that is strong against side-lane champions. However, MKOI’s side-lanes had their best early-game performance in the series so far. A fed Irelia and Xayah allowed the team to stack kills across the map and deny a 0-3 sweep within less than 28 minutes.

CFO concluded the series with another patient display of diligent farming and scaling. While the LCP squad spent its early and mid-game controlling resources across the map, MKOI gained little from seeking out dives and skirmishes. The team’s Kalista also feel behind the enemy Aphelios early. The bot laner Chiu ‘Doggo’ Tzu-chuan delivered an impressive 7/1/2 performance to help CFO survive in the lower bracket.

Following Saturday’s matches, winners CFO and T1 will next face off against Anyone’s Legend (June 9th) and Gen.G Esports (June 10th), respectively. Before that, however, MSI 2025 will continue on June 8th at 1 am BST with an elimination series between LTA’s FlyQuest and BLG.

Fans can tune into the fight for survival via the official Twitch and YouTube channels as well as associated co-streamers.