G2 hand T1 their earliest international exit ever at MSI 2026

Naerlyn Published July 10, 2026

G2 Esports beat T1 and pulled off the massive upset at the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational. With this victory, they advance to the top four of the tournament and break several records. At the same time, the two teams also played one of the best series of all time.

G2 Esports eliminates T1 at LoL MSI 2026

The opening game in the series was a blood bath. Early skirmishes went both ways, neither team managing to get ahead and hold a lead. Mitigated fight wins, stolen objectives, both teams stayed within arms’ reach the entire game long.

Eventually, G2 lost a drake and won a fight, grabbing baron in its wake. From it, they sieged T1’s base, forcing them to take a bad engage. G2 took the first map with 47 kills in 45 minutes.

The next one was more of a stomp. While the early game was once again back and forth, the mid game was all G2’s, and they closed it out cleanly. The third map favored them as well, until T1 turned the tide and snuffed them out.

The fourth game was the real deal, though. With an absolutely brutal opening, T1 got solo kills in every lane, going up 5-0. The lead never relented, with every opportunity G2 tried to seize being met with Caitlyn headshots. Kim “Peyz” Su-hwan even claimed the 16th pentakill of his career.

However, Sergen “BrokenBlade” Çelik somehow found fight after fight despite starting far down. G2 finally started winning fights, despite Peyz remaining an ever-present threat. The dragon soul went G2’s way, while T1 claimed Elder afterwards.

Eventually, the LEC representative was able to take turret after turret and to force T1 into their base. Caitlyn opened the final fight by one-shotting Viktor, but G2 focused on the base and barely managed to take down the Nexus before being wiped. In a 51-minute, 61-kill game 4, Europe took down Korea with BrokenBlade showing the best Kled game in history.

G2 Esports eliminates T1 at LoL MSI 2026. Image credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

A historic moment for LoL Esports

Beyond being one of the most memorable League of Legends international series, this outcome also makes history. Here’s the significance of the G2 vs T1 match.

This is G2’s first win against T1 since 2019. It’s also the LEC’s first win against that team since then.

This is the first time that T1 ever drops out of an international tournament below the top four. Until now, they had always secured the semifinal in single elimination events, and the loser’s final in double elimination ones.

In 2017, Steven “Hans Sama” Liv was up 2-1 against SKT T1, and barely lost game 4 then the series. Nine years later, he beats them for the first time.

Is the gap closing between the West and the East?

Short answer: no. G2 Esports is an exception.

In 2026, G2 has beaten Eastern teams in four different Bo5s, losing three in return. Their game score against the East is 13-12 this year so far.

The other teams from Europe and North America have a combined game score of 1-18 against China and Korea this year. G2 has secured four series, while the other three teams won one single game.

Now, the LEC’s first seed will face LYON to move to the lower final. However, if they win, they will have to face their demons once more. The Western team in the lower final will have to face either Bilibili Gaming or Hanwha Life Esports – both of whom have already crushed G2 in 2026.

Featured image credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games