After an exhilarating five-game series in Busan, Royal Never Give Up won the 2022 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational after clawing their way to victory against T1. Both teams had to break out every single trick in their playbook to win the tournament, with each squad striking back from game one onward.
RNG and T1 have gone through significantly different roads to the finals, with the LPL champions crushing the competition with a perfect group stage and leading all teams in wins in the rumble stage. Meanwhile, T1 dominated their respective group, but stumbled three times against Evil Geniuses, RNG, and G2 Esports, causing some fans to question their true power.
Throughout this series, the victors showed an intense level of confidence to challenge T1’s steely early game, pushing every lane with a relentless amount of pressure. In every game RNG won, they would almost always be in an advantageous position, with T1 having to force some plays to keep up. Legendary mid laner Faker did have some superheroic moments, but unfortunately for T1 fans, they weren’t enough to drag his team to victory.
RNG’s 19-year-old jungler Yan “Wei” Yang-Wei was a menace on Lee Sin and Viego, propelling his teammates ahead with well-timed ganks. His performance also earned him the tournament’s MVP award. The team’s new top laner Chen “Bin” Ze-Bin also had a massive series with 13 kills in game one and 22 kills overall, showing that Gwen should always be banned against him.
Even though T1 forced five games, RNG’s aggression and picture-perfect teamfighting were too much for them to handle in the end. The team also had some shoddy drafts in games one and five, sporting unusual team compositions with a lack of focus and identity.
RNG have now become the only team in the world with three MSI trophies, and are the second team in League history to capture back-to-back MSI championships. After the celebrations have ended, their sights will now switch to the 2022 Summer Split for a chance to defend their throne at home in China.
